


Unity Year

by commander_danny_lawrence



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-18
Updated: 2017-01-12
Packaged: 2018-05-14 19:13:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 14
Words: 32,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5754982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/commander_danny_lawrence/pseuds/commander_danny_lawrence
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Which school are we moving to?” a girl in the back calls out.</p><p>“Ark Academy,” Lexa spits out, disgust and hatred evident in her voice.</p><p>or</p><p>What happens when two rival high schools are forced to share a campus for the year? </p><p>Ft. the Arkers as the rich private school kids and the Grounders as the badass (albeit a little strange) public school kids</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Most characters belong to the CW but the plot and the mistakes are all mine

Lexa runs across the field towards the small trailer on the baseball diamond. She yanks the door open and holds up the sheet of paper that was clenched in her fist. “Please tell me this isn’t happening.” Anya, sighs and leans back against the wall, “I wish I could.” Lexa’s arm drops to her side in defeat as the kids in the classroom stare between her and Anya in confusion. The older girl sets her book down and removes her glasses, “I guess this brings me to the important announcement I had to make. As you all know, the earthquake badly damaged our school’s campus. It could take anywhere between 1 and 3 years to repair it, which is why Kongeda High is being relocated until they finish.” Anya gives her class a moment to process what she’s said before continuing, “Thankfully, we will not be split up. We have found a school with more than enough room for us. All of your teachers now, including me, will continue to teach you at that new school. We will still be separate schools, the only difference is we’ll be sharing a campus. Are there any questions?”

A boy in the front row raises his hand, “What about sports?” The rest of the class murmurs in agreement. Kongeda High’s sports teams were considered some of the greatest in the nation, and all students took immense pride in their athletes.

Anya smiles, “Like I said before, we will still function as we are now. Our teams and traditions will continue on as they always have. Anything else?”

“Which school are we moving to?” a girl in the back calls out.

“Ark Academy,” Lexa spits out, disgust and hatred evident in her voice.

The class erupts into a cacophony of angry panic, and Anya does her best to calm them all down.

“We can’t move in with them! The Spacewalkers are our rivals!” somebody yells.

“Hey!” Anya shouts, snapping everyone to attention. “Ark Academy was kind enough to help us out. They’re the only school large enough to hold us all. So unless you want them to split us up and ship us off in different directions, I suggest you make your peace with this deal.”

Lexa crumples up the notice the principal had given her and slams it into the trash can.

“I know the situation is not ideal,” Anya says, “But we’re in no position to demand something better. We are stuck with this arrangement,” she shoots Lexa a look, “Whether we like it or not. No matter what happens, we are Grounders. I promise that’s not going to change.”

* * *

“I can’t believe this!” Lincoln shouts kicking at the field’s fence. Costia places a hand on his shoulder and he relaxes slightly. “Lexa,” Costia says, tearing the brunette’s attention away from her book. She hums in acknowledgement and Costia continues on, “You’ve been awfully quiet about this whole ordeal.”

Lexa slowly stands up, “I talked to Anya. There’s nothing we can do about it.”

Lincoln shakes his head, “There has to be so-”

“There’s not,” Lexa states firmly.

“But this is bullshit! They honestly think shacking us up with our rivals is the best idea?” he protests.

Costia sighs and leans back into Lexa. “Anya says we will be separated,” Lexa wraps her arms around the taller girl’s waist, “Different classes, different teams, different schools.”

“Same campus,” Costia adds. Lincoln sighs and shoves his hands into his pockets, head hanging in defeat. “You should speak to the school,” Costia murmurs, “Make sure everyone knows what’s going on.” Lexa nods, “I will at lunch. Spread the word that I’m holding a meeting.” The bell rings and Lexa gives Costia a quick kiss before heading to math.

* * *

Lexa waits for all the students to settle down with their lunches before standing up and clearing her throat. A hush falls over the crowd, and Lexa can’t help but take pride in the respect she has received from her school. She holds the megaphone to her lips and begins to speak, “As some of you may already know, Kongeda High is no longer an acceptable campus for us to stay on. We are being relocated until they can repair all the damage done by the earthquake.” Lexa’s jaw clenches, “Starting Monday, we will share a campus with Ark Academy.” The crowd begins to chatter nervously, and Lexa clears her throat again. “I know what you’re thinking. How can we share a campus with our rivals? What will happen to our teachers? What will happen to our sports teams? What will happen to our community in general? Well, I have been informed that we are to remain separate from the Spacewalkers. Our teachers will relocate with us, so none of you have to worry about classes being switched around. We will also keep our sports teams separate and train at an off campus location. I know that everyone here is upset, but our only other option was splitting up and being absorbed by other schools for the next few years. This situation is not one that I am particularly happy with, but it is in our best interest.”

A girl in the front raises her arm up. Lexa nods at her. “How are we going to get to Ark Academy? It’s not exactly the closest school.”

Lexa turns to Anya, and the teacher walks over, taking the megaphone from Lexa. “Busses will be provided from here to Ark Academy. You will be required to show up 7:00 each morning so we can get to the school on time. We will have busses bring us back here after school. I know some of you have jobs that start right after school, and I would like to speak with you about altering your schedule so you can leave earlier than the rest of us.” She hands the megaphone back to Lexa.

“I believe that together, we will get through this. We are a family, and if anyone gives you trouble, you can come to me and I will sort it out. We need to stick together, now more than ever. And remember, although they are our sworn enemies, they were kind enough to lend us their campus, and we should repay them by respecting it. I don’t want to hear about any of you starting fights. Are we clear?”

The crowd shouts out in affirmation, and Lexa smiles. “I’m glad to hear it. This meeting is now over. Any further questions can be brought to me or the teachers. Also, in order to give us time to prepare, the teachers have all agreed not to give homework over the weekend.”

A loud cheer bursts from the crowd and Lexa laughs at the half-assed glares she gets from the majority of the staff. “Alright, alright. Settle down. I was only joking. But, maybe they’ll take it into consideration?” The students turn expectantly to their teachers, who stand there, staring at each other. Lexa holds her hands up in a silent plea, and one by one they sigh and nod their heads, once again sending the students into a state of celebration.

* * *

Finn slides next to Clarke, unwrapping the toasted sandwich he’d just bought. “I can’t believe they’re letting the Grounders onto our campus,” he says, angrily biting into his food. Clarke sighs, “ They already said we won’t be put into any of the same classes. We’ll still be two separate schools.”

“So what?” Finn frowns, “They’re not good enough to go here.”

“Why?” Clarke asked, “Because they’re not rich?”

Finn rolls his eyes, “C’mon Clarke. Don’t give me that look. There’s a reason that we go here and they don’t.”

Clarke shakes her head, “You know I’m here on a scholarship, right?”

“Yes. Which proves that you’re even better than the rest of us,” he grins.

Clarke opens up the container of chicken from the cafeteria. Finn grimaces in disgust, “I don’t understand why you won’t let me just buy you lunch. You’re probably the only person in the whole school who eats that crap.”

Clarke shrugs and takes a bite of the chicken, “It’s not that bad.” She holds out her fork towards him and he quickly backs away. “Dude, gross. Keep that slimy shit away from me,” he complains. It’s Clarke’s turn to roll her eyes. Sometimes she wonders why she even dates such an asshole.

“Oh,” Finn quickly unzips the small part of his backpack, “I have something for you.” He pulls out a thin chain with a metal rose on it. “I made it during math,” he smiles, clipping it around her neck. ‘Oh yeah, that’s why,’ Clarke thinks to herself, turning around to kiss him.

“Alright you two, none of us want to see that,” Octavia says, sitting across from Clarke and Finn. Bellamy and Jasper take seats on either side of her. “Where’s Monty?” Clarke asks.

“Waiting for his food,” Jasper says, popping a couple fries into his mouth.

Octavia takes a giant bite of her cheeseburger before turning to Clarke. “Howd thse presndgaon o?”

“Good. I got an A.”

“F cirsh oo id,” Octavia rolls her eyes.

“Hey,” Clarke laughs, “Maybe if you actually did work you would be getting A’s too.”

Octavia waves her hand dismissively as the three boys stare at them in wonder. “How do you even understand her?” Bellamy asks.

“Because we’re best friends and spend way too much time together,” Clarke offers.

Bellamy opens up his salad and begins to pour on the dressing, “So what do you guys think about having to share the campus?”

“I think Clarke will no longer be the only one eating the cafeteria food,” Finn jokes.

“Hey guys,” Monty plops into the seat next to Clarke, setting his giant McDonald’s bag down on the table, “What’re we talking about?”

“Our new roomies for the year,” Jasper says.

Monty nods and rips the side of the bag so it becomes a plate. Clarke shakes her head at the 5 burgers and the 20 piece nuggets inside. How one boy can eat that much and still stay that skinny is beyond her. “I’m excited,” Monty says, earning looks of incredulation from the rest of the group.

“What? Don’t you guys want to know about all the weird shit that they do at that school?”

“No,” Finn says.

“But guys,” Monty pouts, “I hear they have a ‘Commander’.”

“What’s that?” Clarke asks, accepting the bag of fries that Monty hands to her.

“I don’t know…..YET. But once they’re here we’ll learn about all their crazy rituals.”

“You make them sound like some kind of cult,” Jasper says, brow furrowed.

“How do we know that they aren’t? I mean think about it, they all have tattoos, they have some secret language that they say all their chants in, and nobody is _that_ enthusiastic about their school’s sports teams.”

“He has a point,” Bellamy points his fork at Monty, “Remember that time we went to go watch Clarke’s game?”

The 5 friends nod, thinking back to how they were forced to stand in a corner the whole game because both sets of bleachers were completely packed. The cheering that happened when the Grounders had won was deafening.

“See,” Monty waves a nugget in the air threateningly, “Cult.”

* * *

Finn slips into the metalworking classroom, sneaking up behind a girl trying to fit two gears together. “Hey there sexy,” he whispers, tugging her body against his. “One second, Finn,” the girl mumbles, focusing on placing the gears inside a little metal box.

“Okay, what’s up?” she turns around and smiles at him.

“I may or may not have an anniversary gift for a certain Raven Reyes,” he says, reaching into his pocket. “Close your eyes,” he instructs. Raven does as she’s told and Finn quickly slips the necklace onto her. “Okay, you can open them.”

Raven opens her eyes and smiles gratefully at the younger boy, fingers coming up to play with the metal raven that’s hanging right below her chest. “I love it,” she whispers, kissing him quickly before grabbing a small, sloppily wrapped package from her work table. Finn opens it carefully, revealing a nice watch. He slips it onto his wrist and grins, “Did you make this?”

“Yeah,” she smiles, taking hold of his hands. “Just give me a couple more minutes to finish up then we can head out.”

Finn nods and sits down on a stool, watching as Raven starts to clear the little screws off the table.

* * *

Lexa climbs into the front seat of Anya’s car, buckling her seatbelt and turning on the radio. She searches through about 10 stations before settling on one that’s playing David Bowie. Anya pulls out of the school’s parking lot and onto the street. Her hand taps against the steering wheel as she begins to sing under her breath.

Lexa smiles and turns the volume up louder, watching the older girl fondly. They get to their apartment complex before the song ends. Lexa has to get out of the car and open the garage gate manually, because once again, Anya has forgotten to replace the batteries in the remote. She waits in the lobby for the older girl, making light conversation with Gustus, the daytime security guard. Anya joins them a few minutes later and after agreeing to join Gustus for drinks at his apartment later, she steps into the elevator with Lexa.

“I’m probably going to go grocery shopping later. I’ll swing by so you can tell me if you need anything,” Anya says as the doors to the 4th floor ding open. Lexa nods, “Are you having dinner with us tonight?”

“Yeah, I’ll come around 6?”

“Sounds great,” Lexa says as Anya steps fully out into the hallway. She watches her struggle with her doorknob as the elevator closes. Lexa gets off on the next floor, fumbling around the small part of her backpack until she remembers her keys are in her pocket. She flings open the door, wincing at the loud bang it makes as it smacks against the bookshelf. Her mom looks up from her laptop and offers her daughter a small smile before turning back to her work.

Lexa walks into her room and kicks her shoes off, letting her backpack drop next to them. She walks into the small study, finding her dad sitting cross-legged on the floor. Lexa sits down next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. He smells like earth and paint, an odd but familiar combination. “How are the plants doing?” Lexa asks, taking in the dirt caked underneath his fingernails. “They’re all right. They wanted me to say hi.”

Lexa smiles, “I haven’t seen them in a while.”

“Well,” her dad pulls away and faces her, eyes twinkling with laughter, “Don’t tell them I told you this, but they all said they miss you very much.”

Lexa stares down at her hands, feeling guilty. “I’ve been--”

“Busy,” her dad finishes. “That’s alright kiddo. Maybe tomorrow?”

“Maybe,” Lexa says, knowing fully well that she’s most likely booked for the day. Her dad smiles understandingly, but the hope has fled from his eyes and he suddenly looks so very tired. Lexa flings herself forward, wrapping her arms around his thin frame. They hold onto one another tightly, relishing in the warmth of the embrace for a few moments before pulling away.

“Well,” her dad sighs, “I’m sure you’ve got homework.”

“Oh,” Lexa shakes her head, suddenly remembering everything that went down during the day. “I actually am homework free for the weekend.”

“Really? And how, oh mighty Commander, did you manage to pull that one off?”

“Starting Monday all of Kongeda High will be going to school at Ark Academy. I convinced the teachers to give us the weekend off to prepare ourselves for hell.”

“Ark Academy? You’re going to school with those losers?”

Lexa laughs and stands up, “Yes, I am. Anya and I will explain the details over dinner.”

“Can you hand me my sketchbook?” Lexa’s dad asks, extending an arm in its direction.

Lexa does as she’s asked before walking out into the living room. She turns the T.V. on and slumps down on the couch, pulling out her phone to send a quick text to Costia.

_Are you still free tomorrow?_

_ya..._ _y?_

_Do you want to come over? Me and my dad were going to do some gardening and I’m sure an extra set of hands would be much appreciated_

_am i finally gonna see ur parentals again?!? :O_

_Maybe not my mom. But my dad, yes._

_:OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO_

_You are an idiot_

_ >:(((((((((((((((((( _

_Are you coming over or not?_

_not. i h11 u_

_H11?_

_its worse than h8._ _3 more worse to be exact_

_3 more worse doesn’t make sense._

_u dont make sense_

_Fine. Then_ _I won’t see you tomorrow from 11 to 6._

_fine. i wont c u either_

Lexa glances up in time to see Leslie Knope fall into the pit. Her phone vibrates and she laughs when she sees it’s from Costia.

_where exactly will i not be c-ing you at_

_11746 Polis St_

_great._

_if i wasnt not coming what would you want me to bring_

_Just your cute self (;_

_awww shucks :) u flatter me so._ _shit_ _moms yelling at me. gotta go lex._ _I love you_

_I love you too._

* * *

Clarke drops down onto the Blake’s couch, exhausted and sweaty. Octavia glances at her before stretching herself out so her head rests in the blonde’s lap. “What do you want to watch?” she asks, opening up Netflix. Clarke takes the remote and selects animated movies. She scrolls through them until she finds the one she was looking for. Octavia groans, “Again?” Clarke smiles, “Shut up, you know you love it.” Octavia grumbles something, but Clarke’s attention has turned to the screen as the muses start to sing.

Bellamy comes home with five boxes of pizza halfway through the movie. He throws two boxes at the girls before taking the other three into his room with him. They munch on their food happily, getting through the rest of the movie and an episode of Parks and Recreation before they run out.

“I need a shower,” Clarke declares a couple minutes later.

Octavia lifts herself up so Clarke can get off the couch. The blonde walks into the main hallway, grabbing a towel from the cabinet before grabbing some clothes that she keeps for herself in the guest room. Bellamy’s showering in the downstairs bathroom (she can hear his off-key, dramatic rendition of ‘My Heart Will Go On’ through the door), so she goes to one of the ones upstairs.

The hot water helps ease the aches from cross-country practice. She washes herself quickly, finishing the shower in about 10 minutes. She wraps her hair in a towel, knowing that the blow dryer will be with Bellamy for the next half hour or so.

She grabs her sketchbook from the guest room before walking into the living room. Octavia is laying down, completely enthralled by an episode of Pretty Little Liars that’s playing on the screen.

“Are you serious?”

Octavia jumps and fumbles to turn it off, a guilty look on her face.

“I thought we both agreed that show was the worst?” Clarke settles onto the loveseat.

“We did. And it is. But….the girls are so good looking. How could I not watch?”

“Do you even know what’s going on in the show?”

“Honestly, no.”

Clarke laughs and opens up her sketchbook, grabbing a pencil from the little box on the coffee table. “Alright, go ahead and watch. I won’t judge.”

“Yes you will,” Octavia accuses, resuming the episode anyway.

Clarke watches for a couple minutes before realizing that she has absolutely no idea what’s going on. She turns back to the blank page in front of her and begins to make a rough sketch of her best friend, glancing up at her every so often so she can add in the small details.

Bellamy comes downstairs around midnight and finds them both fast asleep. He sighs, but shuts off the T.V. and gently pries the sketchbook and pencil from Clarke’s hands. The movement wakes the blonde up, and she stands sleepily, holding onto Bellamy’s arm for support. The older boy picks up his sister, smiling as she mumbles something about bears and rests her head against his shoulder. He takes them into the guest room, pulling the blankets on the bed back so Clarke can clamber in before setting Octavia next to her. Clarke pulls the blankets up over them as Octavia scoots closer, seeking out the other girl’s body heat. Bellamy closes the door quietly before shutting off all the lights in the house and going back to his room for some much needed sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Lexa’s phone buzzes at 11:30 with a text from Costia saying she’s down the block. Lexa quickly throws on an old pair of jeans and a paint-stained t-shirt. She rushes into the lobby, smiling as she sees Costia--dressed up in overalls and a t-shirt--talking with Gustus. The older man says something and she laughs, her hair bouncing as she throws her head back. Lexa’s heart skips a beat as Costia catches sight of her and smiles. “Morning Lexa,” Gustus offers, his voice low and rumbling. 

“Morning Gus,” Lexa smiles. She walks up to the two and throws her arms around the darker-skinned girl. Costia pulls back enough to kiss her, lips soft and strawberry flavored. “New chapstick,” Lexa notes as she pulls away, “I like it.” Costia blushes and grabs her hand, “Thanks.” 

Gustus clears his throat and both girls jump. “Not that you two aren’t adorable to watch, but isn’t Andrea waiting?” he looks pointedly at the gardening gloves Lexa has in her hands. “Right,” she gives a pair to Costia and slips on the other ones, “C’mon. I’m sure my dad’s up on the roof already.” Costia follows her into the elevator. The go up to the 8th floor before the elevator dings and opens its doors. Lexa takes Costia’s hand and drags her up the stairs, calling out to her dad to let him know that they’ve arrived. His head pops up from between two rows of plants, a smile breaking onto his face as he sees them. Andrea clambers to his feet, eagerly pulling the two girls into a hug. His shirt is loose around his frame, making him appear thinner than normal. A few beads of sweat have gathered on his forehead, and a smear of dirt stains the skin right above them. His eyes are shaded by the brim of a large sun hat, but they still twinkle mischievously as he looks between his daughter and her girlfriend. “It’s nice to see you again,” he smiles, and for a second, Lexa wonders whether he’s talking to her or Costia. “We’d better start working before it gets too hot.” He claps his hands together and gives them a few heads of garlic. “The pumpkin’s are starting to ripen,” he says, glancing at a spot right behind Lexa’s head. “Is it too early for pie?” he asks, a look of concern etched into his features. “It’s never too early for pie,” Lexa reassures him, “I’ll take a look and see if there’s any I can use.”

Lexa leads Costia to the far end of the roof. She breaks the head of garlic into cloves, and starts to plant them in an empty planter box. Costia starts breaking apart the other ones before standing up to take a look around. She walks through the rows of wooden planters, smiling as she sees Lexa’s signature carved into each one. Her hand absentmindedly moves to touch the wooden bear in her pocket. Lexa had made it for her back when they were still in middle school. Costia’s dad had just lost his job, and her family was struggling financially. Lexa had given her the animal as a way to ground herself--something to hold onto for strength when things got rough. One side of the bear is as detailed as it was when she got it, but the other has been smoothed by years of anxious stroking. Lexa’s signature is no longer visible, Costia’s thumb having slowly worn away at it. 

Movement in the corner of her vision tears Costia from her thoughts. Andrea is closely examining a group of eggplants. Their skin shines a dark purple in the sun, and Costia makes her way over to see if they’re ready to be picked. 

“Did you know that there are eggplants that aren’t purple?” he asks as she crouches next to him. 

Costia nods, “There’s also green ones and purple ones with stripes.” 

He turns to her in surprise, “How did you know that?”

“A friend of mine went to India last year. He brought some back for me.”

Andrea nods, “I always make eggplant parmigiano when we pick them.” He reaches out and prods at a couple of them, frowning in concentration. Costia watches as he stands up and looks to the sky. “Tomorrow,” he finally says, turning back to smile at her, “I will pick them tomorrow.” Costia nods a serious look on her face, “Good choice.” Andrea laughs, the sound a low rumble from deep in his chest. Lexa comes over to join them, phone in her hand. “Lunch is ready. My mom just texted me.” 

Costia takes Lexa’s hands and they follow Andrea back to the elevator and down to the 4th floor. “You two go ahead. I’m going to get Anya,” Lexa says, remaining in the elevator as Costia and Andrea step out. The elevator doors shut and Lexa leans back against the wall for the short ride down. 

She takes out a key from her pocket as she steps into the hallway. Anya’s apartment is the second one on the right, on the side across from the elevator. The key sticks in the lock, and Lexa spends about a minute messing with the knob before finally pushing her way inside. Anya jumps out from behind a bookshelf, bat raised threateningly above her head. Lexa stumbles back, shoe catching on the leg of a table. Her arms flail out and she grabs at a lamp, bringing it crashing down on top of her. Anya sets down the bat and helps Lexa up, “You alright?”

“Yeah,” Lexa sets the lamp back on the table.

“Sorry about the bat.”

Lexa brushes herself off, “I should’ve texted first. Lunch is ready. My parents are both expecting you.”

* * *

“So I’m standing there, completely covered in this disgusting muck, and this one over here starts trying to scrape it all into a bucket for his plants,” Anya takes the last bite of her bread as the rest of the table breaks into laughter. Costia falls into Lexa’s side, both girls shaking with giggles. Andrea helps Maria, Lexa’s mother, start to clear the salad dishes. “Thank you for lunch,” Costia smiles, removing the napkin from her lap. Anya and Lexa look at each other and laugh. “What?” Costia asks, looking quizzically between the two.

“There’s still more food,” Lexa smiles.

“Pasta time,” Andrea announces, bringing in bowls of tagliatelle with bolognese. He sets them in front of the three girls before taking his seat. They wait for Maria to come in with the last two bowls before digging in. Andrea opens the second bottle of wine and refills his glass along with Lexa’s. The brunette takes a sip before holding out the cup to Costia, “You sure you don’t want any?” Costia shakes her head, “I’m not a big alcohol person.” Lexa shrugs and goes back to eating. 

“How is it?” Andrea asks, looking up from his food. 

“Really good,” Costia says around a mouthful of pasta. 

Andrea beams, cheeks tainted pink from the wine, “I’m glad you like it.”

The meal ends in laughter and a series of satisfied sighs--along with Anya slumping down in her chair and swearing to never eat another bite of food again.

* * *

Clarke wakes up with her head against Octavia’s chest. The younger girl is messing around with her phone, a smile on her face as her fingers tap against the screen. “G’morning,” Clarke mumbles, sitting up and stretching her arms out. “I think you mean good afternoon,” Octavia juts her chin out in the direction of her clock. 2:25.

“Shit,” Clarke jumps up, “I have work in like 30 minutes.”

“Bellamy can drive you,” Octavia says. “And you left a uniform here.”

Clarke clambers off the bed, grabbing her phone as she hurries to the bathroom. She checks her notifications as she brushes her teeth, finding 3 missed calls from her mom and one from Finn. She calls her mom back, and Abby picks up the phone as Clarke spits the last remnants of toothpaste into the sink. 

“Bellamy’s taking me. I have a uniform here,” Clarke says before her mom can even begin talking. 

“Okay. Do you need me to pick you up? I get off my shift around 9.”

“It’s okay. We’re actually closing early today so I’ll be out around 7 tonight.”

“Alright, be careful walking.”

“Okay mom. I’ll call you when I get home.”

“Okay. By Clarke. Love you.”

“Love you too mom,” Clarke hangs up the phone and steps back into Octavia’s room. The younger girl is gone, and her khakis and blue shirt are laid out on the bed for her. She throws them on and walks out into the kitchen. 

The smell of bacon sits heavily in the air, and Clarke can’t help but smile as she watches the two Blake sibling moving throughout the kitchen. Octavia’s busy flipping pancakes as Bellamy works on some eggs. Clarke checks on the bacon, and seeing that it’s done, turns off the back stovetop. Octavia pours some more batter onto the griddle and grabs a plate from the overhead cabinet. She hands it to Clarke, who takes Bellamy’s place as he turns off the front burner and carries the egg pan over to a bowl on the table. Clarke lifts the bacon from the oil and loads them onto the plate, handing it over to Bellamy after he puts the egg pan in the sink. Octavia finishes the last of the pancakes and brings them to the table as Clarke sets out individual plates. Bellamy reaches behind him to pull open the utensil drawer. He hands everyone a fork before stacking pancakes onto his plate. Clarke quickly grabs 3 pieces of bacon as Octavia and Bellamy argue about who should get 8 and who should get 7. She munches on her food as they finally agree that Bellamy can have one more pancake than Octavia if she gets the extra bacon. 

Once their sibling spat is over, they completely inhale their food, collectively making their way through 4 eggs, 17 pancakes, and 15 strips of bacon before Clarke can finish half of her meal. Bellamy wipes the grease from his hands before leaving to change. 

“Soooo…..are you gonna eat that?” Octavia asks, staring down at the pancake Clarke is pushing around her plate non-committedly. 

“Here,” Clarke stabs her fork into the middle and holds it out to Octavia. The younger devours it in 3 quick bites, leaving Clarke chuckling and shaking her head. Octavia burps. 

“I don’t understand how both you and Bellamy eat so much yet stay so in shape.”

“Sports,” Octavia smiles, “And we were both blessed with fast metabolism.”

Bellamy walks back into the kitchen, throwing a jacket at Clarke before ruffling Octavia’s hair. “Don’t burn down the house while I’m gone.” 

“That was one time,” Octavia grumbles, shoving her brother away. Bellamy smiles and grabs his keys and wallet from the kitchen counter. “Ready?” he turns to Clarke. “Yeah,” Clarke throws on the jacket and follows him out, giving Octavia a goodbye hug as she does so. 

Bellamy’s old pick-up truck is waiting in front of the house. Clarke hoists herself into the passenger seat and Bellamy pulls away from the curb. He drives quickly but cautiously, a sharp contrast to Clarke, who barrels through the streets like they’re some kind of race track. Which is probably why Bellamy never let’s her drive. 

They show up in front of the mall around 10 minutes later. The ride had been spent in comfortable silence. “Do you want me to drive you home after?” Bellamy asks, knowing that if Clarke’s mom isn’t off work then she’ll have to walk around 3 miles in the dark to get home. “Do you mind? I get off around 7 tonight.”

“No problem. We’ll pick up dinner from the food court after.”

“Okay,” Clarke smiles gratefully, “Thank you.” She climbs out of the car and Bellamy throws a granola bar at her through the window before driving away. Clarke sticks it in her pocket before heading inside the mall. 

* * *

The bookshop has been completely empty for the past hour, and Clarke watches as the clock slowly ticks down the seconds until 6. Her elbow is propped up on the table, chin resting in the palm of her hand. The shop is so warm and so quiet that Clarke probably would have dozed off if it wasn’t for the sound of the bell on the door ringing. She quickly stands as she sees two girls scanning the shelves, their backs turned to her.

“Can I help you guys find anything?”

The taller one turns around, eyes widening as she sees Clarke. The blonde immediately recognizes her as the Kongeda High girl’s basketball coach. The other girl turns around as well, and Clarke can’t help the rush of hatred as she sees the face of her arch enemy. Lexa’s eyes narrow, “Yes, actually. We would like help finding another bookstore. I no longer wish to shop here.”

“Lexa,” Anya scolds, “Be nice.” She looks at Clarke, forcing a smile, “Do you have any children’s books?”

Clarke nods, “Anything in particular? Or just kids books in general?”

Anya turns to Lexa, poking her in the side. Lexa squirms away and huffs, eyes once again meeting Clarke’s, “The Giving Tree and Where the Wild Things Are.” Clarke hops over the desk and leads them into the back room. “They’re over in the ‘Classics’ section. There’s hardback and paperback so you can choose the one you want.”

Clarke leaves the two girls and goes back to her desk. Lexa grabs a hardback copy of both books as Anya starts looking through the rest of them. “Oh man,” Anya pulls out a copy of Strega Nona, “Do you remember this book?” Lexa looks at the front cover and smiles, “Oh yeah. I used to make you read this to me all the time.”

“Bubble, bubble, pasta pot,” Anya begins. 

“Boil me up some pasta, nice and hot,” Lexa finishes, smiling at the older girl. “I think I still have this somewhere in my bedroom.”

“Probably. It  _ was _ your favorite book.” Anya places it back onto the shelf, “Ready to pay?” Lexa nods, she’d been saving up for the past month in hopes of getting Costia a nice birthday present. Costia had told her how The Giving Tree and Where the Wild Things Are were her only two childhood books, and how she had sold them in order to have some money to help pay the rent on their apartment after her dad lost his job. Along with the books, she and Lincoln had both chipped in to get her a new sketchbook and a set of watercolors. 

They walk back to the front desk, where Clarke is spinning around on her stool. Lexa places the two books on the counter, and Clarke quickly steadies herself. She rings up the books, typing something into the cash register before the total pops up. “That’ll be $24.75,” she states, looking back at Lexa. The brunette gulps and fishes around in her pockets, pulling out a handful of crumpled up bills. Her ears turn red as she counts the money and realizes she’s still about 6 dollars short. “How much do you need?” Anya asks, pulling the wallet out of her jacket pocket. “Nothing. I don’t need anything,” Lexa protests. She looks at Clarke, “Can I exchange one of them for a paperback?”

“Lexa, how much do you need?”

“It’s fine Anya. I can get a paperback,” Lexa insists, glaring at a scratch on the wooden desk.

Anya swipes the money off the table and holds it out of Lexa’s reach as she counts it. She pulls 6 dollars from her wallet and hands it over with Lexa’s money.

“I’ll pay you back,” Lexa says, head hanging in shame.

“Relax. It’s six dollars Lexa. Buy me lunch on Monday and we’ll be even.”

Clarke opens up the register and puts the money in, taking out the 25 cents change she owes Lexa. She bags the books and gives them to Lexa along with the receipt and the quarter. Lexa gives the coin to Anya, smiling cheekily as the older woman rolls her eyes. Clarke hides a grin at their little exchange, watching them as they leave the shop.

And just like that, she’s back to waiting in complete and utter boredom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the next chapter will have them finally merge campuses


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure how I feel about this chapter. But this is where the Grounders and Spacewalkers finally come together

Lexa’s day goes by quickly. She spends it at Anya’s apartment, watching old Futurama reruns and ‘helping’ Anya grade the last project her students submitted. Before she knows it, it’s twenty minutes to 11 at night. Lexa yawns and tries to fight her drooping eyelids, but Anya’s fingers running through her hair urge her to fall asleep. So she does. 

She wakes up at 3 in morning, desperately needing to pee. Anya’s disappeared--most likely to her bedroom--and there’s a blanket wrapped over Lexa and a pillow tucked under her head. She shrugs the soft material off and all but runs to Anya’s bathroom, letting out a little sigh as she relieves her bladder. On her way back to the living room, she notices light coming through the crack of Anya’s door. She knocks twice, the effort of raising her arm almost too much for her still half-asleep body. The older girl pulls the door open moments later, and Lexa shuffles into the room, squinting against the brightness of the singular ceiling light. She collapses face first onto Anya’s bed, mumbling something incoherent as she closes her eyes. Anya rolls her eyes and climbs in next to her, wedging a pillow in between their bodies before shutting off the overhead light. 

* * *

Anya’s alarm wakes them up, the shrill beeping startling Lexa so much she falls off the edge of the bed. She rolls onto her side, curling up into a ball and trying to get back to sleep. Anya slowly sits up, taking a moment to wake herself before standing. She walks to the other side of the bed and nudges Lexa with her foot, receiving a slap on the ankle in return. “Get up asshole. It’s 5:30. We’re going to be late.”

“It’s too early,” Lexa mumbles, “Wake me up at 7.”

“We have to be at Kongeda at 7 you idiot. We’re going to Ark Academy, remember?”

Lexa lets out a loud groan, slowly peeling herself from Anya’s carpet. “I propose new school hours. If we’re going to be forced to go an hour away, we should start school an hour later.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m going to make breakfast. You go wash up.” Anya leaves the room and Lexa stands in the half-darkness, debating whether the consequences are worth just falling back asleep for another 40 minutes. She decides against it, remembering the time Anya threw a bucket of cold water on her because she wouldn’t get out of bed. She stumbles to the bathroom, hand running along the wall as she tries to find the light switch. Finally, she hears a faint buzzing, and the white strobe light above the mirror flickers on. She brushes her teeth and face before sitting on the closed toilet seat, head in her hands as she tries to psych herself up for the day. 

Anya mixes some salt and pepper in with the raw eggs before throwing them on the stove. Lexa shuffles into the kitchen, hair tied up and looking a little more refreshed. “Cook these. I need to brush my teeth.” Anya hands the spatula to Lexa. The younger girl sighs and stands up, peering into the pan at the eggs that are beginning to cook. She pushes them around a little with her spatula, waiting until they’re cooked all the way through before turning off the stovetop. She wolfs her food down and leaves a note telling the older girl she’s going upstairs to change. 

Her mom is already gone, but her dad is still asleep, so she moves through the apartment quietly. She throws on a pair of old jeans and a white t-shirt, topping it off with her Kongeda High letterman jacket (something she knows all the other athletes will be wearing as well). A knock on the bedroom door startles her, and she quickly opens it, coming face to face with her father. “Hey Lex. Ready for your first day at a new school?”

Lexa smiles and steps aside to let him into her room, “I’m ready to kick some Spacewalker ass if that’s what you mean.”

“....Not exactly…..but I’ll take it.” Andrea picks Lexa’s brush off the bedside table, “Do you want me to braid your hair?”

“Okay,” Lexa smiles, sitting down on her bed. Andrea pulls the desk chair over to the edge of the bed. He begins to brush Lexa’s hair, “You stayed at Anya’s last night?”

“Yes. It got late so she let me sleep there.”

“Is she driving you to Ark Academy?”

“No. We’re taking a bus from Kongeda.”

Andrea hums and begins to slowly braid parts of Lexa’s hairs, fingers carefully moving from one side of her head to another. Lexa sits in silence, staring at the wall in front of her as she waits for him to finish. Her phone buzzes, and she glances at it out of the corner of her eye. Costia’s face lights up the screen so she reaches out to answer, careful not to mess up her dad. 

“Hey, Lex. Do you think you could give me a ride today?”

“Of course. Do you want to come over here or should I pick you up.”

“My dad can take me over to your place. I’m leaving right now. See you in about 5 minutes?”

“Okay. I’ll wait for you in the lobby.”

“Alright, bye Lex. Love you.”

“Love you too,” Lexa blushes, fully aware of her dad’s presence behind her.

Andrea smiles as she hangs up, “Costia?”

“Yes, she’s coming over in a few minutes.”

He hums and pushes the chair back, “Your hair is done. Do you want breakfast?”

“I ate at Anya’s,” Lexa grabs her backpack from the corner of her room and starts stuffing books into it. “I’m gonna go downstairs and wait for Costia.”

“Okay. I’ll see you after school. Do you have practice today?”

“No. We start next week.” Lexa hugs her dad and calls out a goodbye before rushing down to the lobby. Gustus looks up from his book as Lexa hops onto the front desk. “Morning Gus.”

“Morning Lexa,” he says, turning back to the copy of Catcher in the Rye. The front door opens and Lexa immediately turns to it, smiling widely as Costia walks in. She’s dressed almost identically to Lexa, the only difference is the shoes that they’re wearing. Gustus laughs, “Well aren’t you two just adorable.” Lexa blushes as Costia kisses her cheek and takes her hand. 

“Shof op,” she grumbles at him, leading Costia to the elevator. The taller girl waits for the doors to close before pushing Lexa up against the wall and kissing her. Lexa grunts and grips Costia’s waist, pulling her even closer. They only break apart as the elevator dings, both of them breathing heavily while grinning at each other like idiots. Lexa leads her to Anya’s apartment, struggling with the doorknob before finally unsticking it and throwing the door open. Anya’s sitting on the couch and tying her shoes. She takes a look at their matching attire and fake gags, “Are you two  _ that _ couple?” Lexa rolls her eyes and Costia laughs, taking a hold of the smaller girl’s hand. 

Anya jumps up and grabs her car keys, “Alright kiddos, let’s boogie on out of here.” She slips her sunglasses on, “And no fooling around in the back of my car.”

* * *

They get to Kongeda at 6:53. Most of the other students and staff are already there. Just as Lexa suspected, all the athletes are donning letterman jackets, and the rest of the kids are wearing other school apparel. Lincoln walks over to the two girls, pulling them into a group hug, “Today, we enter the depths of hell. Here’s to hoping we make it out in one piece.”

The buses start to load up at 6:58, and they’re on the road by 7:03, just a few minutes later than expected. Costia falls asleep on Lexa’s shoulder, curls tickling at Lexa’s cheek. Her lips are slightly parted, her face the definition of peace. Lexa strokes her thumb over the smooth, toffee-colored skin of Costia’s hand. The taller girl sighs in her sleep, mumbling something unintelligible. Lexa smiles and leans her head back, closing her eyes.

* * *

 

The bus stopping jolts her awake, and she blinks sleepily. Costia yawns next to her, immediately straightening up as she looks out the window. They’re in front of Ark Academy. Large brick buildings loom down at them, safely protected by a large, white iron fence. Students mill around on the large expanses of grass between buildings, laughing with each other or studying from their textbooks. Lexa quickly puts on a mask of indifference before stepping off the bus. A couple students look up, and upon spotting the colors of her jacket, they quickly alert the rest of the people outside. 

The Kongeda High kids congregate in front of the fence. Lexa stands before the crowd, hyper-aware of all the eyes on her. She leads her people through the gate. The Ark Academy kids quickly stand. Lexa keeps her eyes trained forward, ignoring the glares she’s getting from the Spacewalkers. Well, she ignores them until Finn sticks his foot out and trips Costia. “My bad,” he laughs. Lexa lunges forward and strikes him in the face. Suddenly there is chaos. It’s the Grounders vs the Spacewalkers. Lexa watches as Finn is helped up by Clarke. He grabs two of his friends and runs towards her. Lincoln and Nyko quickly move to the Lexa’s side, ready to help her fend them off. Lexa takes on Finn, dodging a punch he throws at her and kicking him in the stomach. He stumbles backwards, a look of rage taking over his features. Lexa waits for Finn to rush her again before decking him. He drops to the grass, clutching at his bleeding nose and crying out in pain. Lexa’s ready to hit him again when she feels strong arms pull her back. “Em pleni, Leksa !” Anya drags her away from the fighting. She stands up on one of the benches, cupping her hands around her mouth, “Chil yo daun!”

The Grounders stop fighting, all of them turning to face Lexa. “All of you, come here!” Anya yells. They all shuffle over, heads bent low in shame. Marcus Kane--the principle of Ark Academy--takes this as the right time to exit the main building, jaw dropping as he sees the aftermath of the fighting. Anya steps down from the bench and walks through the crowd of kids to get to him. “I am deeply sorry about this.” He sighs, “It’s fine. Knowing my kids, they’re probably the ones who started it.”

Anya laughs, “Trust me, it was most definitely the Kongeda kids. They don’t exactly like you Spacewalkers.” Kane smiles, “I assure you, the feeling is mutual. But hopefully having you here can change everyone’s minds.” He glances down at his watch, “I’d better show you to your classrooms.” Anya calls the Grounders over and they all follow Kane to one of the buildings on the left. “You’re free to use all the classrooms in here as well as the ones in the building next door. There is also an office downstairs for Indra. Art classes, woodshop classes, and metalworking classes have to be in a shared classroom which I’ll show you as soon as you get settled in here,” Kane explains to Anya. He leaves them to sort themselves out. 

All the teachers except Anya pick classrooms. The kids quickly split into their homeroom classes and disappear into the rooms. Anya walks back to the main building to meet Kane, ignoring the dirty looks she gets from some of the Ark Academy kids. She recognizes a few of the girls from their basketball team. One of them--Raven, she thinks--stares at her with a peculiar look of curiosity. Anya gives her a slight nod, and the girl blushes at having been caught staring. She quickly looks down at the wind-up toy in her hand, fiddling with it to avoid looking back at Anya. The older girl walks over anyway. “Do you mind showing me to your principal’s office. He’s supposed to show me where the art classrooms are.” Raven nods and leads her into the building. She turns left and takes her to the end of the hall before knocking on a large wooden door. Kane opens it moments later, looking quizzically between the two. “I needed help finding your office,” Anya explains, “You were going to show me the art classrooms?"

“Ah, yes. I’m actually expecting an important call in a few minutes,” he turns to Raven, “Ms. Reyes, would you mind showing Anya to the rooms?”

“No sir,” Raven replies. 

“Excellent. Thank you Raven.” The phone on the desk rings and Kane quickly excuses himself.

Revn glances up at Anya, quickly turning away when they make eye contact. “The rooms are this way.” She takes the teacher to a set of small buildings across a large grassy field, about 300 feet away from the buildings the Grounders have set up in. There are 4 buildings, each with different murals painted on the sides to distinguish them. “Are you the only art teacher?” she asks. Anya nods. “Cool,” Raven responds, “Which art do you teach?” “Painting and drawing. I’m guessing you’re a metal shop kid?” she looks pointedly at Raven’s grey shirt that’s covered in grease and other assorted stains.

“You got me,” Raven smiles. 

“Well, thank you for bringing me here. I’m gonna to go have a talk with the painting teacher. Do you need a note or something for being late to class?”

“It’s okay. I’m almost always late anyways.”

Anya smiles, “Alright then. See you around Raven.”

* * *

“I can’t believe that bitch hit me,” Finn mutters, holding an icepack to his swollen nose. Clarke reaches out to put a hand on his shoulder, but he quickly jerks his arm away. Clarke rolls her eyes and turns to her sketchbook, ignoring Finn’s complaining. She looks up as there’s a knock on the door. Mr. Schmidt opens it and says something before letting Raven in. She looks around the room until her eyes land on Finn, whose skin is now paler than usual. He quickly stands and walks over to her. Clarke watches the two of them as Finn grabs her arm and pulls her out of the classroom. She knows it’s none of her business, but her curiosity wins over and she asks if she can go to her locker. Mr. Schmidt nods, warning her to be back before the bell rings.

She steps out into the hallway, spotting Finn and Raven on the stairs. She starts walking over to them, immediately stopping in her tracks as the two of them kiss. Her jaw drops and she feels a pang in her heart. “You….you asshole!” she yells, startling the two other teens. Finn quickly pulls away, a look of shock on his face as he spots Clarke. “I can’t believe this! You’re cheating on me?!” Now it’s Raven’s turn to look shocked, “What?!”

Finn quickly scurries away from Raven, “I can explain---”

“How long has this been going on?!” Raven yells.

“Now just wait a second and let me ex--”   


“We’ve been dating for 5 months,” Clarke explains. “How about you?”

Raven’s eyes narrow, “A year.”

Clarke shakes her head in disbelief. “I can’t believe this. Me and you are over,” she spits at Finn, storming back into Mr. Schmidt’s classroom. The boy turns to Raven, “Look she meant noth--”   


“I don’t want to hear it Finn. You know what, fuck you. I can’t believe I wasted a year of my life with you,” Raven says. She can feel tears starting to build up behind her eyes. 

“Rave--”

She pushes past him and runs outside, heading to the metal shop classroom. She bangs on the door until Mr. Sinclair opens it up. “Raven?” he asks in surprise. “Can I come in?” she asks, trying desperately to fight back her tears.

“Of course,” he moves aside and watches as she quickly runs to her work table. Raven pulls off the necklace Finn gave her and sets it on the table. She grabs a hammer and smashes it, watching as it cracks into 3 different pieces. She can feel Sinclair watching her from the front entrance. “Is everything okay?” he asks. 

“Yeah,” Raven’s voice wavers. “I’m good.”

* * *

Clarke takes her seat in the art room, pulling out her sketchbook and trying to draw away her feelings. A commotion from the front of the room draws her attention, and she sees a group of Grounders apologizing and helping Ms. Burnes pick up a box of spilled rulers. One of them is the girl Finn tripped earlier. She’s tall; probably somewhere around 6’0. She’s also extremely fit and attractive. She catches Clarke staring and winks at her. Clarke quickly looks down, continuing her drawing. When she looks back up a few moments later, the girl and her friend are both looking at her, amused grins on their faces. Their teacher says something to them and they turn away. The Grounders step into the side room, disappearing from Clarke’s view.

* * *

“Oh shit. I’m sorry,” Costia says as she bumps into the blonde girl who was looking at her earlier. She quickly picks up the sketchbook that she’d knocked onto the floor. “You’re very good,” Costia comments, staring at the landscape drawn on the open page.

“Thank you,” Clarke mumbles.

“I’m Costia.” 

“I’m--”

“Clarke.” Costia smiles, “I know. You’re all my girlfriend talks about during season.”

“What?”

“Oh, sorry. My girlfriend is Lexa. The basketball captain. You guys are like enemies or something, right?”

Clarke frowns, “I mean, yeah....I guess.”

Lincoln steps out from the side room and quickly moves between the two girls, glaring down at Clarke. 

“Relax, Lincoln. We’re just talking,” Costia laughs, pulling him back. “This is--”

“Clarke,” Lincoln finishes.

“Does everyone just know who I am?” the blonde asks.

“Lexa complains about you a lot,” Lincoln grins. 

“Gonot nao, Linkon,” Costia laughs.

“Chit don ai dula op?”

Costia gently shoves the boy away, “ _ Leida _ , Linkon.” He huffs but stays where he is

“I should go,” Clarke says, looking between the two of them. “The next bell rings soon.”

“Okay. Bye Clarke. Nice meeting you,” Costia smiles sweetly as the blonde walks away.

“Natrona,” Lincoln hisses, elbowing the girl in the ribs. 

“Shof op Linkon,” Costia laughs, “I’m just being friendly.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some Trigedasleng translation (not 100% sure about all of these):
> 
> Lexa to Gustus:
> 
> shof op-shut up
> 
>  
> 
> Anya:
> 
> em pleni, Leksa-that's enough Lexa
> 
> chil yo daun-stand down
> 
>  
> 
> Lincoln and Costia's conversation:
> 
> gonot nao Linkon-go away Lincoln
> 
> chit don ai dula op-what did i do?
> 
> leida Linkon-goodbye Lincoln
> 
> natrona-traitor
> 
> shof op Linkon-be quiet Lincoln
> 
>  
> 
> Like I said before, I'm not good with Trigedasleng so idk if these are all correct


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is short. Sorry.

“So…...guess who I talked to today.”

Lexa looks up at her girlfriend and shrugs, “The President?”

“Better.”

Lexa’s eyes widen dramatically and she drops her voice to a whisper, “God?”

Costia frowns and throws a peanut at her, “Don’t be an ass.”

“Well just tell me who it is then.”

“Fine,” Costia pouts. “It was Clarke Griffin.”

“What?! You know she’s my sworn enemy. She’s the Joker to my Batman. The Master to my Timelord. The Ares to my Xena--”

“Didn’t they have some weird romance thing going on?”

“The Joker and Batman?”

“No, silly. Ares and Xena.”

Lexa frowns, “Maybe. But I chose to ignore him every time he was on screen. Besides, Gabby and Xena were soulmates. He couldn’t have come between them even if he tried.”

Costia smirks, “Am I the Gabby to your Xena?"

Lexa picks at her fingernail, pretending to be disinterested, “For now.” The brunette flinches as Costia throws a couple more nuts at her. “Kidding,” she laughs, throwing herself across the table to kiss the taller girl. Costia smiles into the kiss and pulls her closer, hands fisting in the younger girl’s T-shirt. They’re interrupted by the clearing of someone’s throat, and they turn to find Finn glaring down at them. Lexa’s eyes narrow, “What do you want?”

“You’re sitting at my table,” he growls.

Lexa looks around tilting her head to the side in mock-confusion, “Really? I don’t see a name anywhere.”

Finn seethes and takes a step forward. Lexa jumps to her feet, hands balled into fists. “I’d watch it if I were you,” she hisses. He looks around at the other Grounders who have all rose to their feet. They watch him carefully and he grins, taking a step back, “Point taken. But hey, do yourself a favor and watch your back.” He walks away, slamming into one of the freshman with his shoulder. Lexa sighs and shakes her head, turning back to her lunch. “Asshole,” she mutters under her breath.

* * *

“I can’t believe he’d do something like that,” Octavia growls, angrily shoving a handful of chips in her mouth. Bellamy nods, “What a douche. Remind me to go extra hard on him during practice today.”

“Thanks guys,” Clarke mumbles around a bite of the cafeteria’s chicken sandwich, “But I’m actually not that mad. I mean, it sucks that he cheated but he was always a dick. I don’t really know why I liked him.”

“Liked who?” Monty asks, setting down a bag filled with junk food.

“Finn cheated on her,” Jasper says, causing his friend to choke on the Snickers bar he’d just opened.

“Well, technically he used me to cheat on Raven.”

“Raven Reyes?” Monty inquires, eyebrows raising.

“Yeah. Do you know her?”

“She’s in my….yeah….I have to go,” Monty mutters, grabbing his bag of sweets and hurrying in the direction of the art buildings. He knocks on Mr. Sinclair’s door, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. The teacher opens the door a few moments later, looking surprised to see Monty there. “Hi sir, is Raven here?” he asks.

“Yeah. Do you know what’s wrong with her?”

“I do. Can I?” Monty gestures to the room and his teacher quickly moves out of the way. The boy goes to the back where Raven is messing around with some pieces of scrap metal. Monty takes the seat next to her, placing his bag beside her things. “Are you alright?” he asks, taking in the redness of her eyes and the way her hands shake.

“I’m fine,” she mutters, hammering down on a piece of old aluminum.

“I heard what happened,” he whispers, watching as Raven’s body tenses.

“Who told you?”

“Clarke’s a close friend of mine,” he admits, opening a bag of hot fries and offering it to her.

“Well then why didn’t you tell me my asshole of an ex was cheating on me?”

“I didn’t know you were dating Finn,” he defends, setting the bag of chips down between the two of them. “You never mentioned his name when you talked about him.”

Raven sighs, taking a chip and popping it into her mouth, much to Monty’s delight. “You can have those if you want,” he pulls out another bag, “I have more."

“Thanks.”

“So do you always come here at lunch?” Monty asks.

“Yeah. I’m usually the only one which means it’s quiet. Something that you don’t get very often here,” she smiles.

Monty nods in agreement, usually the room is filled with noise, but now it’s almost silent. “What are you working on?” he asks, nodding at the pile of scrap metal on the table.

Raven smiles and unlocks the locker beneath her table, pulling a steel box out from inside. She opens it and takes out what looks like a robot without a head. She turns the wind-up key on the side and Monty watches as it slowly walks across the table. The robot has a glass pane in the middle of it’s torso, so you can see the gears turning as it moves.

“That’s awesome,” he laughs as it comes to a stop. Raven grins and picks it up, rubbing at a spot of grease on one of the arms. “It’s not quite done yet. I need a head and I want to paint it once it’s completely put together.”

“Is that what you’ve been working on for the past week?” he asks, remembering Raven trying to get all the gears to fit snugly inside the little body.

“Mostly,” Raven nods, “But there’s a couple other things I’ve started as well.” She pulls out the remaining contents of her box, setting them side by side on the table.

“No way,” Monty reaches forward but quickly retracts his hand, “Can I?”

“Go ahead,” Raven smiles, “Just be careful.”

He examines the toy car first. It’s just an empty, metal shell right now, no gears or contraptions inside. The next toy he picks up is a grasshopper, and he winds it up, laughing as its legs move and it starts to make music. The very last thing is the beginning of a music box. It’s almost entirely put together, but the comb is missing and the cylinder is smooth. Monty grins as he turns to the girl, “This stuff is amazing Raven!” She laughs, “I’m glad you like it.” Monty picks up the robot, “If you need help painting things I can ask Clarke. She’s a great artist.”

Raven freezes and the boy smacks his forehead, “Shit. Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” the girl slumps, turning to the table. Monty watches as she bends the pieces of metal, fitting them together expertly until she has the head of a robot sitting in front of her. Raven remains quiet, and any hint of a smile is now gone from her face. Monty curses himself for this, and as the bell rings he quickly scribbles something on a piece of paper. “If you need a friend or someone to talk to, text me,” he hands her the paper as well as his last bag of sour gummy worms before running to the english building, making it to class with just seconds to spare.

* * *

Lexa grabs her History notebook from her newly assigned locker, waiting for Costia to grab hers before they walk to their shared class. Titus nods at them as the walk in and grab the two seats left in the back. He begins his lecture on U.S. Government in the early 1800’s, and Lexa takes notes, trying to ignore the way Costia watches her. About half an hour into the class, Titus pairs them up for an assignment. Lexa pulls Costia’s desk next to hers, smiling at the adorable way her girlfriend giggles and tries to keep herself balanced. “Hey gorgeous,” Costia whispers, leaning over the arm of her chair to kiss her girlfriend’s cheek. Lexa grins, staring down at her notes as she tries to fight the blush from her cheeks, “We have to work, babe.”

Costia pouts, “Fine. But I hope you know I wasn’t taking notes…..or paying attention.”

“Wait, so what were you writing in your notebook?”

Costia holds out the sheet of paper. It’s covered in doodles of Lexa, each one in different cartoon styles. The younger girl points to one done in the style of Calvin & Hobbes, “Is that Anya?”

“Yeah. You guys are cute together.”

“I am not that much shorter than her,” Lexa states, staring at the height difference in the drawing.

“Well obviously not, but you can’t deny the fact that she’s a good head and a half taller than you.”

Lexa frowns at her desk, bottom lip jutted out in a pout. Costia smirks and kisses her cheek, “C’mon Lex, I thought we had work to do.”

The brunette sighs and reluctantly turns to her girlfriend, “Fine. Read me the first question.”

* * *

“You are a dumbass,” Clarke sighs, staring at her friend who’s now covered in dirty paint-water. Octavia just stares at her, still in shock about the fact that her (white) shirt is completely soaked. “Don't worry,” Clarke laughs, “I have an extra shirt you can wear.” She opens her art locker and pulls out a faded, grey t-shirt emblazoned with the words “Ark Academy”. Octavia tugs her long sleeve over her head and grabs one of Clarke’s clean rags, using it to wipe herself dry. She throws the girl’s shirt on and sighs, looking around for something to wrap her wet one in before placing it in her bag.

Clarke has already turned back to her painting, and she’s putting the finishing touches on it when the studio door creaks open. Both girls turn around, smiling when Bellamy takes a seat next to his sister. The younger Blake leans against him, wrinkling her nose as she takes in the smell of his sweat. “I can’t believe your coach made you practice in the rain,” she says, ignoring the way the scent itches at her nose. “I’m kinda glad he did,” Bellamy states, “I pushed Finn into a mud puddle.”

Octavia grins and Clarke laughs, picturing the boy indignantly wiping the dirt from his face. “Almost done there Princess? I got to get home and shower,” Bellamy turns to Clarke. She nods, “Yeah. Gimme a sec to clean up.” Octavia mutters something about just how badly her brother smells, and Clarke leaves them to their bickering as she begins to put her materials away. As she’s walking back to the studio, she bumps her wrist against one of the supply tables and it causes a brush to fall from her hands. It rolls right to the door of the side room, and Clarke picks it up slowly, staring at the closed door in front of her. She can’t help the way her curiosity piques as she thinks about Costia and Lincoln and the work that they might have stored in that room.

Clarke turns the doorknob, finding the room unlocked. She steps inside, hand moving along the wall until she flicks the light switch, illuminating the room in a soft yellow glow. The side room doesn’t have lockers, just cubby’s, and Clarke’s eyes scour the names on them until she finds the one she’s looking for. ‘COSTIA’ is printed in sloppy capital letters, the black of the marker boldly contrasting the white of the tape. She knows that she shouldn’t be snooping through people’s personal things (art is something that she’s sure is dearly personal to Costia), but she can’t help it. The girl is intriguing. But that doesn’t keep her hands from hesitating as they reach for the folder in the cubby. She pulls it out, opening the glossy material to reveal a thin stack of notebook and drawing paper, all covered in sketches. She sits down gently removing the drawings and leafing through them. The first half of them are nature sketches. Flowers in an empty clearing, trees reaching up to the sky, rivers running clear and cool through a forest. As she moves a picture of rooftop garden to the bottom of the stack, her eyes catch on the next picture.

It’s Lexa. Her hair is pulled back in a messy bun, and there’s a smile on her face as she stirs a pot on the stove. The next sheet is another drawing of Lexa, but this time, she’s sitting on an old tire swing, flowers braided into her hair. Her head is tilted down, and there’s a hint of a smile on her lips. The next few drawings are of an unfamiliar couple who are most likely Costia’s parents. Clarke finally reaches the final one in the stack, and her eyes widen as she first sees it. It’s another drawing of Lexa, but from the looks of it, she’s completely naked. She’s turned away from the paper, and a sheet covers her from the waist down, but her back is bare. Costia’s taken the time to draw in the entirety of an intricate tattoo on her right shoulder blade. Her curls are pushed over her shoulder, her head turned to the side. Clarke reaches out, fingers itching to trace the delicate curve of her jaw.

“Yo Griffin! Where you at?!”

Clarke jumps and the papers scatter across the floor. “Shit,” she rushes to pick them up, shoving them back into the folder as Octavia pushes the door open. “Ready to go?” Clarke nods, closing Costia’s cubby with her heel. The blonde grabs her things from the table before following Octavia back to the studio.

She silently curses herself for being such a snoop, trying to get the picture of Lexa out of her head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long, I'm working on an Octaven one-shot and it's been consuming my time. Also school has been kicking my ass. Anyway, thoughts on the Monty/Raven friendship? Thoughts on Clarke the snoop?


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also a short chapter, but I wanted to post it now because I kept you guys waiting so long before. This is mostly brotp fluff so enjoy

“Costia?” There’s a soft rap on her door and she opens it. “Hey, dad. What’s up?”

“Can we talk?” he asks, refusing to meet his daughter’s gaze. 

“Yeah,” she steps to the side and he walks in, taking a seat on the edge of her bed. “Is something wrong?” Costa asks as she sits next to him.

“I’ve been promoted,” he smiles, glancing at the numerous pictures on the wall across from him. 

“That’s great!” Costia laughs, hugging him from the side as a sense of relief washes over her. “God you scared me,” she pulls away, “I thought something was wrong.”

Her dad’s hands wring together as he stares at the floor, “Yes. Well….there is some bad news. The company wants me to work from Polis, which means we’ll all have to move down there.”

Costia’s heart drops, “But--”

“I know that it’s not what you want to hear, but the salary increase is tremendous, and I would be crazy to turn it down.”

“Dad all my friends are here! My school is here! The people I grew up with are here! Can’t we just wait until I’m done with senior year?”

“I’m afraid not. They need me to start working as soon as possible.”

Costia’s hands ball into fists and she can feel tears starting to prick at the corners of her eyes, “When do we move?”

“Saturday.”

“The day after my birthday,” she laughs humorlessly.

“I know that you’re upset kiddo, but I’m doing what’s best for us.” He kisses the top of her head and leaves the room. Costia waits until the door shuts before letting her tears fall. She grabs the picture frame from next to her bed, staring down at the smiling faces of herself and Lexa. 

Lexa.

She has to call her.

* * *

The sound of Monty’s phone ringing blares through the room. Clarke reaches over and grabs it from the couch, handing it to the younger boy. He glances at the number on the screen and accepts the call, thumb swiping across the screen as he raises the phone to his ear.

“Hello?”

_ “Monty? It’s Raven. I need your help.”  _

“What’s wrong?” he asks, brow furrowing in concern as he senses the desperation in the girl’s voice.

_ “I was running in the park and I slipped on a rock. My ankle really hurts and I can’t walk. Is there any way you could come get me and take me to Urgent Care or something?” _

“Yeah. Which park,” Monty stands and grabs his car keys from the kitchen counter.

_ “The one right off Main Street.” _

“Alright. I’ll be there in a few minutes. Do you want me to stay on the phone with you?”

_ “That’s okay. Just call me when you get to the park.” _

“Okay.”

_ “Bye Monty.” _

“Bye,” he hangs up the phone and tosses the keys to Clarke. “I need you to take me to the park.”

“Why?”

“A friend of mine is hurt and I only have my permit so I technically can’t drive us.”

Clarke nods and follows the younger boy to the garage. She unlocks the Jetta and hops in the front seat, waiting for Monty to open the garage door before backing out onto the street. 

They make it to the park in 4 minutes, and Monty calls Raven again. 

“We’re here. Where are you?”

_ “I’m about a quarter mile in.” _

“Okay. We’re coming.” The sky is starting to grow dark, and Monty hurries through the park to the trail. He stays on the phone with Raven, wanting to make sure that he can hear if anything happens to her.

_ “Monty, you just ran right past me.” _

“Oh, shit,” he stops and turns around, almost running into Clarke. He walks slower this time, looking around until he hears Raven call out to him. She’s sitting beside a rock, the shadow of it almost hiding her. Raven stiffens as she sees Clarke, and Monty quickly kneels down next to her, “Sorry, but I can’t drive. Also her mom’s a doctor so she can take a look at your ankle.”

The blonde crouches down, pulling out her phone and turning on the flashlight. She shines it over the girl’s ankle, taking in the swelling. Luckily, Raven’s wearing loose sweatpants, and Clarke rolls them up to her knee. She unties the girl’s shoe and slips it off, noticing the way Raven winces as she does so. Next she takes off the girls sock, careful not to jostle her leg. 

Monty is holding Raven’s hand, watching as the blonde starts to gently run her fingers over the swollen area. Clarke presses into the knot on the inside of the girl’s ankle, watching as Raven bites her lip and squeezes Monty’s hand harder. She quickly pulls her hand away, “Did you try walking on it?”

Raven nods.

“And?”

“It hurt to much to put weight on it.”

“What hurt? Your ankle or your foot?”

“Ankle.” 

Clarke nods, “Okay. I’m like 99% sure it’s broken. We’re going to take you to the urgent care center. If you want I can carry you to the car, but if not then we can just help you walk.”

“Which one will take longer?” Raven asks, knowing it’s a stupid question.

“Helping you walk,” Clarke answers. Raven sighs and lets go of Monty’s hand, reaching her arms out to Clarke. The blonde leans over and carefully lifts the girl up, waiting until her grip is secure before she starts towards the car. Monty walks beside them, shining the flashlight in front of them. Raven can’t help but feel embarrassed and helpless as Clarke carries her down the path. 

By the time they reach the car, Raven’s ankle has really started to throb. Monty pushes the front seat as far back as it can go, and Clarke sets the brunette down on it. She drives to urgent care, Monty reading off the directions from the backseat. There’s only one other person in the waiting room. Monty signs in and starts to fill out paperwork as Clarke carries Raven over to the couch, resting her leg against the length of it. She asks the woman at the front desk for an ice pack, and she reaches into a freezer next to her, pulling one out and giving it to Clarke. 

Raven’s ankle has started to bruise, and the cold of the ice feels nice against the pain. They wait in silence for about 15 minutes, Monty pacing back and forth and the two girls watching him uneasily. 

“Raven Reyes,” a young female nurse looks up from her clipboard. Monty helps Raven to her feet….well, foot. Together they make their way to one of the rooms, Clarke trailing along behind them. The boy helps Raven onto the patient bed before sitting in one of the chairs. The nurse starts typing into the computer, reading things off the clipboard and verifying them with the injured girl. 

“Okay,” she smiles, revealing perfect, white teeth, “The doctor will be here in just a moment.” She leaves the room, and true to her word, an older doctor walks in less than a minute later. He smiles, “Alright Raven, what seems to be the problem?” 

“My ankle,” Raven responds, “I think it’s broken.”

He examines the bone in question, gently prodding at it before nodding, “It’s broken alright. You’re going to need a cast and some crutches.” He leaves the room and Clarke sighs, staring down at her watch. “You can leave if you want,” Raven mutters, unable to hide the hurt in her voice. Monty shakes his head and glares at the blonde, “No. We’re staying here with you. Right Clarke?”

The blonde glances down at her watch again and shoots him a look, “I have a project I need to finish, so I should probably head home.” She hands him the car keys, “I’ll see you tomorrow Monty….Raven,” she nods at the girl before walking out, fingers tapping out the password for her phone.

Monty groans, “Well, we’re fucked.”

“Why?” Raven asks, adjusting herself on the bed.

“I can’t legally drive us. And you can’t drive at all with that ankle.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“Alright so we’ll just be super careful so we don’t get pulled over.”

“Ra--”

“Alright,” the nurse from before walked back in, wheeling a cart with medical supplies for the cast, “This should only take 10 or so minutes.” She got to work on wrapping up the younger girl’s ankle, asking her questions to keep her distracted. When she was finished, she threw her plastic gloves in the trash and started to pack up the supplies. “Okay Raven, you need to keep the cast dry, so when you shower, you’re going to have to wrap it up or something. You also need to take it easy and have a friend help you get around school. Now, I’ll be back in a few minutes to teach you how to use crutches, and then you’re free to go.” She leaves the room with a smile, and Raven grins at the boy still sitting in the chair. “Want to be the first to sign it?”

Monty scoffs, “What are we,  _ twelve _ ?”

Raven smirks, “Is that a yes?”

“Don't be stupid, of course it’s a yes.”

* * *

Raven moves slowly and unsteadily with the crutches, still not used to the way walking with them feels. She lets Monty help her into the passenger seat of the car, wincing at the ache in her armpits as she pulls her seatbelt on. She notices the way his hands grip the steering wheel, knuckles white from the pressure. “Monty, I live like five minutes away, don’t worry. You’re not going to kill us.” He nods, but his jaw is clenched as he pulls out of the urgent care lot.

Raven turns on the radio, hoping that some music will help him unwind a little. She smiles as she finally sees his shoulders relax, the tension in his jaw slowly dissipating. By the time they reach Raven’s house, he’s completely at ease. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” he asks as he helps her to the front door. She pulls out her keys and unlocks it, flipping on the lights. “Maybe. But I might stay home depending on how I feel.”

“Alright,” Monty hugs her, “Text me.”

“Wait!” Raven reaches into a bowl on the hallway table, pulling out a black Sharpie. “You owe me a signature.”

* * *

 

Lexa peers at Anya from over the armrest of the couch. The girl had banned her from laying on the couch after she’d refused to let Anya sit next to her, stretching her limbs out across the furniture. 

“Stop staring at me and do your homework,” Anya says, not moving her eyes from the laptop resting on her thighs. Lexa huffs but turns back to her math textbook, working out the next couple problems before clambering to her feet. “I’m hungry,” she declares, throwing herself on top of the older girl. “Hey!” Anya exclaims, pulling her computer out of harm's way, “Watch your limbs.”

Lexa throws her arms out, elbow digging into Anya’s bicep. “Get off,” the older girl says, glaring at the smaller brunette. “But Anyaaaaa,” she whines, turning around and resting her forehead against the other girl’s, “I need to be fed.” 

Anya’s eyes narrow and she quickly digs her fingers into the smaller girl’s ribs, tickling her until she falls off the couch. Lexa pouts from her spot on the floor, “I hate you.”

“Then get out of my apartment.”

“Fine,” Lexa grabs her things, making a big show of shoving them into her backpack and stomping to the door, “I’m leaving.”

“Have fun.”

Lexa opens the door, “I’m serious.”

“I know. Goodbye.”

“Fuck you,” Lexa mutters, stepping back inside and closing the door. “I’m stealing snacks from your fridge.”

Anya waves her hand dismissively, eyes glued to her laptop screen.

“OOOOOO! JELLO!”

Anya quickly jumps up and runs to her kitchen, “I swear to God, if you touch my Jello you are never allowed back in this apartment again!”

* * *

Lexa throws open the door to her apartment around 6. “Dad,” she calls into the darkness of the living room. There’s a loud bang and Lexa turns the lights on, watching as her father stumbles in, clutching at his forehead. There’s blood on his fingertips when he pulls them away and he quickly rushes to the bathroom. Lexa drops her bag and runs after him, watching as he cleans the blood from his face. He notices her in the mirror and smiles reassuringly, “Just a little bump.”

Lexa nods, and Andrea turns off the sink, using the remaining water in his hands to pull back his hair. His shirt is covered in paint, and it billows around his skinny frame, only serving to make him look thinner. He’s lost weight, something that Lexa didn’t think was possible considering how small he was before. 

“Have you had lunch?” she asks.

“Lunch?” his brow furrows, “No. Why? What time is it?”

“Almost time for dinner,” she sighs.

“Oh. Are you hungry? Do you want me to cook?”

“Mom’s bringing take-out.”

Andrea’s nose wrinkles, “But we just had take-out last night.”

Lexa shrugs, “So?”

“So, I can cook. Why do we need to buy meals?”

“You always make too much food. And it’s cheaper.”

“I make as much food as I think we need.”

“Dad,” Lexa shakes her head, “Two pounds of pasta is way too much for the three of us. Even one is too much.”

“But Anya sometime’s comes by for dinner,” he defends.

“Yes, but Anya isn’t going to eat an entire pound of pasta.”

He frowns, “Is there something wrong with my cooking? Do you not like it?”

“No, dad. Your cooking is great.” It’s true, she’s never met another person who can cook as well as her father. “But your serving sizes are a bit stretched.”

“They are not.” 

Lexa grabs her father’s hand and leads him to the kitchen, throwing open the refrigerator and revealing stacks of tupperware filled with leftovers. Andrea frowns and closes the door, “Okay. So maybe I make too much for the three of us. But what if a family showed up at our door one day, in desperate need of food?”

“That’s not going to happen.”

“It might.”

“It won’t.”

He huffs, pointing a finger at her accusingly, “You need to start appreciating my cooking.”

“Well you need to start eating more,” she pokes at his stomach.

“I eat plenty.”

“You skip lunch almost every day.”

“I do not.”

Lexa throws her hands up in exasperation, “Yes you do!”

“Well I can’t help it if I’m not hungry.”

“Maybe you should see a doctor,” Lexa suggests.

“I’m perfectly healthy.”

“Yeah well what if you’re not.”

Andrea’s gaze softens as he meets his daughters frightened gaze.

“You’ve been dropping weight consistently for the past month,” Lexa points out. “I’m worried about you.”

Andrea sighs, “Fine. If it will make you feel better, I will schedule an appointment for tomorrow.”

Lexa pulls out her phone and hands it to him, “Do it.”

He rolls his eyes but dials the number, leaning back against the counter as he talks to the receptionist.

* * *

“So, Clarke, how was your day at school?” Abby asks, taking a bite of her steak. “Today was your first day with the Grounders, right?”

Clarke nods, swallowing the food in her mouth before beginning to speak, “It was alright.” She pushes a carrot around on her plate, “Me and Finn broke up.”

“Oh, honey, I’m sorry,” Abby says, reaching out to grab Clarke’s hand.

The blonde laughs, “No need to lie mom, I know you always hated him.”

Abby coughs, staring down at her plate in embarrassment, “Yes, well….he wasn’t the most polite person you’ve ever brought home with you.”

“Yeah. He was a dick.”

“Clarke,” Abby warns, giving her daughter a look. “Anyway, what happened between you two?”

“It turns out he was using me to cheat on this other girl,” Clarke takes a bite of her mashed potatoes.

“What?!” Abby’s eyes narrow, “That _ asshole. _ ”

Clarke’s eyebrow shoots up, that’s the first time she’s heard her mom curse in….well in about a day, but it’s the first time she’s done it in front of Clarke in months.

“It’s okay. One of the Grounders beat him up this morning so I guess he got what he deserved.”

Abby snorts, “Really? Which one? I’ll have to thank them.”

“Lexa,” Clarke immediately tries to shut out the image of Costia's drawing.

“Their basketball captain?”

Clarke nods and Abby watches her carefully, noticing the way she quickly shovels more food into her mouth. She chooses to ignore it, but can’t help the curiosity that pokes at her brain as she takes in the slight flush on her daughter's cheeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys Costia's my baby and I love her. I promise she isn't gonna die. BUT, there will be drama with her next chapter. Also which is the ultimate brotp, Lexa/Anya or Raven/Monty?


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure I like this chapter but whatever I guess

Monty checks his phone one last time, before following his mom to the car. 

“So, are we picking up your friend from her house?”

“No. I don’t think she’s going to school today.”

“Alright,” she pulls out of the driveway and in the direction of Ark Academy. They’re almost at the school when Monty finally gets a text.

**_Reyes:_ ** _ sorry. just woke up. im staying home though so its cool. dont have too much fun without me _

Monty smiles and is about to reply when his mom parks the car. “Have a good day Monty.”

“Thanks mom,” he climbs out of the car and is grabbed by Jasper not a second later. 

“Monty, we have a problem,” the pale boy begins dragging him to the science building, “And if you can’t fix it then I’m pretty sure I’m going to be murdered.” Monty’s brow furrows, “What are you talking about--oh. Oh,” he holds back a snort as Bellamy glares at him from his place on a desk. The older boy’s hair is a bright pink color, along with his eyebrows and the stubble on his cheeks.

“What did you do to him?” Monty asks, unable to hold back his smile.

“ _ I  _ didn’t do anything,” Jasper begins, “He was the one who put his face too close to the beaker after I told him not too.”

_ “You asked me what the solution smelled like!” _ Bellamy accuses, finger poking into the scrawny boy’s chest. Jasper stumbles back a step, knocking into Clarke who’s just entered the room. Octavia follows behind her, both of them laughing when they see the brightness of the older Blake’s hair. “Oh, fuck off. All of you,” Bellamy grumbles, grumpy pout on his face.

Monty grabs the beaker on the table, swirling around the liquid inside. He glances at the other labeled mixtures, reading over what each one is before selecting the vial on the far right end. He pours it into the beaker, mixing them around before thrusting it into Bellamy’s hands. “Lean in,” he instructs, grabbing a pouch of yellow powder from one of the cabinets. “Alright everyone, stand back.” 

He grabs a pinch of the powder and drops it into the beaker before jumping back. A cloud of bright yellow smoke bursts from the beaker, and Bellamy begins to cough, waving a hand in front of his face to clear it all away. When it all dissipates, the four other teens poke their heads over the edge of the front desk. Bellamy’s hair is back to it’s normal color, and Jasper lets out a sigh of relief. “Dammit,” Octavia mumbles, “I was hoping it would all fall off.”

Bellamy pulls Monty into a bone-crushing hug before rounding on Jasper. Monty grins, watching as his friend struggles in Bellamy’s grip. “How’s Raven?” Clarke asks, moving to stand beside Monty. “Fine,” he replies, “She’s staying home today, which gives her time to rest. So that’s good.” 

“Sorry for leaving yesterday. Did you guys get home okay?”

Monty nods tersely, “Yeah.”

The bell rings before Clarke can reply, and Monty quickly hurries away.

* * *

Costia’s leg bounces anxiously as she sits in homeroom. Lexa watches her curiously, unable to keep the worry from her features. The taller girl had closed her eyes and fallen asleep the second they had gotten on the bus, and she hadn’t said a word to Lexa since they first saw each other.

“Are you alright?” Lexa finally asks, placing a hand on the other girl’s thigh. Costia flinches, pulling away from the touch. Lexa’s face falls and she quickly folds her hands back in her lap, glancing down at the textbook on her table.

“Sorry,” Costia’s leg stills and she reaches out to cup the younger girl’s cheek, “I’m alright. Just a little tired.”

Lexa nods, turning her head and pressing a gentle kiss to Costia’s palm. 

“So you’re dad’s seeing a doctor today?” Costia asks, effectively turning the conversation topic away from herself. 

“Yeah,” Lexa leans into Costia’s touch, “I think it’ll be good for him. Even if nothing is wrong.”

“I’m sure he’s going to be fine,” Costia smiles, dropping her hand from Lexa’s cheek and pulling the girl against herself. The smaller girl laughs softly, hands covering Costia’s as they rest against her abdomen. Her face now hidden from Lexa’s view, Costia allows her smile to slip away, replaced with the one of anxiousness she’d been wearing previously. Lexa turns slightly, moving her head so she can kiss the spot beneath Costia’s earlobe. The taller girl grunts, glancing at their teacher as Lexa continues to trail kisses down her neck. “Babe,” she whispers, gaining the smaller girl’s attention, “Can’t this wait until after homeroom?”

Lexa huffs and pulls away, “Fine. But don’t expect any sort of affection before then.”

Costia rolls her eyes at her ever-dramatic girlfriend, pushing the smaller girl away, “Fine. Stay away from me.”

Lexa crosses her arms and pouts, much to Costia’s amusement. The bell rings moments later, and Lexa launches herself at Costia, hanging onto her back as she stands. Lincoln shakes his head at them as they meet him at his locker. “I’ll meet you in class. Lexa and I have some business to attend to in the restroom,” Costia says. Lincoln’s nose crinkles, “Gross. You know you only have like 5 minutes, right?”

“Lexa’s pretty quick,” Costia grins, earning a slap from her girlfriend. 

“Am not,” she protests, cheeks heating up.

“It’s okay Lex. I’m an artist, I’m supposed to be great with my hands.”

* * *

Costia saunters into the painting building a couple minutes after the bell rings. There’s a spring in her step and a flush in her cheeks that--when coupled with the dishevelment of her hair and the dark marks on her neck--could only mean one thing. She winks at Clarke as she passes by and the blonde feels her cheeks redden. Costia steps into the side room, immediately garnering the attention of Anya and her fellow classmates. The teacher’s eyes zero in on the marks on her neck and she shakes her head, “You’re late. Do you have a pass?”

“No,” Costia sets her things on the table, “Do they still give those out?”

“Well I certainly hope so, because you’re going to need one if you want to be let back in.”

Lincoln smirks at her from across the room. She’s tempted to flip him off, but she’s sure that’ll only get her in more ‘trouble’. Costia knows that Anya’s not really mad at her. She’s mad that Costia is late to class because she was fucking Lexa in a bathroom stall just a few minutes before class. 

“Alright,” she walks to the door before turning back to meet Anya’s glare. There’s a smirk on her face, and she knows that what she says will most likely get her murdered by her teacher after class, but she can’t pass up the opportunity. “Oh, and, Lexa says hi.” She’s out the door before Anya has time to react, laughing quietly to herself as she pictures the look on the teacher’s face. Two seconds later her phone buzzes with a snapchat from Lincoln. She opens it, watching herself disappear from the room before the focus turns to Anya, who is staring at the door with a look of furious irritation.

* * *

“Fucking dumbass,” Lexa mutters as she replays the video on Lincoln’s story. Costia walks into her classroom moments later, saying a few words to the teacher before coming to Lexa’s desk. “Anya’s going to kill you,” Lexa says as Costia crouches down next to her. “Maybe. But it was totally worth it.”

“Was it?”

“Of course. Didn’t you see the video?”

Lexa grins, “Yeah. But it’s a shame, Anya was just starting to tolerate you.”

“Oh shof op,” Costia smiles, “You know she loves me. Just come pick me up right after class and she won’t do anything bad.”

Lexa nods, “Fine. I’ll be there right when the bell rings.”

“Also...do you think you could write me a late pass?”

* * *

Costia walks back into the classroom, a slip of paper in her left hand. She walks to Anya’s desk and hands it to her, “A late pass. Written and approved by the Commander herself.” Anya almost fumes at the lipstick mark next to Lexa’s signature, “Take your seat Costia. But I would like you to stay after class.”

Costia gathers her things and moves to the stool next to Lincoln. “You just couldn’t help yourself, could you?” he chuckles. 

“I mean, I have Lexa to bail me out so why hesitate?”

* * *

As promised, Lexa shows up right as the bell rings. Clarke watches as she walks into the side room, noticing marks matching Costia’s along the length of her neck. Most of the class is leaving, which means Anya hasn’t had a chance to be alone with Costia, something she immediately regrets when she sees Lexa walk in.

Anya shakes her head as the two embrace, Costia pulling Lexa into a heated kiss as the rest of the students leave. “That’s enough,” she says once they’re the only three left. The two girls break apart, both sporting dopey grins. 

“Lexa. I would like to speak with Costia…..alone.”

Lexa pouts, “Can’t you just let me take her. Spare her life this one time Anya.”

The older woman frowns, “Out.”

“Fine,” Lexa huffs, stepping out into the main room. 

Costia watches her leave before turning back to Anya, “Alright. Can I make a final request before you murder me where I stand?”

Anya rolls her eyes, “Look, I get it. You’re young, you’re in love with Lexa, you want to have sex, that’s fine. I understand. But being late to class because you were off hooking up in some bathroom stall is not acceptable. Lexa is the Heda. It’s important that she leaves a good impression on the rest of the student body. And I worry that stuff like this is not going to do that.”

Costia nods, suddenly feeling bad for teasing the older woman earlier. 

“I trust you Costia. I really do. And I trust you with Lexa it’s just that I’d appreciate if you kept your relationship and your academics separate. Are we clear?”

“Yes Anya.”

“Okay. Good,” she smiles, “Also, give this to Lexa for me.” She hands over a folded up piece of printer paper. Costia takes it and leaves the room with a final nod of acknowledgement in Anya’s direction. 

Lexa scrambles to her feet as Costia steps out of the room, enveloping the taller girl in a hug. “You’re alive,” she whispers, feigning shock as she pulls away. 

“Yeah, yeah. Here,” she thrusts the paper into Lexa’s hands and the smaller girl stares down at it in confusion. “From Anya,” Costia explains. Lexa unfolds the paper and laughs. 

**_No more sex during school please._ **

**_Also you technically can’t write hall passes for students._ **

**_I’m going to have to mark Costia late. Sorry._ **

**_xoxo Anya_ **

**_P.S. You’re not allowed in my apartment until those bites on your neck are gone_ **

There’s a lipstick mark that matches the one on the pass Lexa made for Costia. She folds the paper back up and shoves it in her pocket before taking her girlfriend’s hand. “C’mon, we have a class to get to.”

* * *

Monty’s phone buzzes and Clarke watches as he reads over the text before turning to Bellamy, “Do you have practice today?” The older boy shakes his head. “Okay, can you give me a ride after school?”

“Sure,” Bellamy nods, “I owe you for bringing my hair color back.”

Monty smiles and looks back at his phone typing out a reply. 

“Is that Raven?” Clarke asks, nodding towards his phone. 

“Yeah. She invited me over for dinner.”

“You guys are becoming fast friends,” Clarke comments.

“She’s nice. And she doesn’t really have anyone else,” he shrugs.

* * *

**_Dad:_ ** _ You need to come home right after school. We’re starting to pack tonight. _

Costia frowns at her phone screen. Lexa’s eyebrow quirks up, “Everything alright?” 

“Yeah,” Costia pockets the device, her face smoothing out into a mask of impassivity, “But I can't come over today.”

“Oh, that’s okay. What about tomorrow?”

Costia shrugs, picking at the skin on one of her grapes, “We’ll see.”

Lexa can’t fight the way her heart sinks.

* * *

The car ride with Anya is quiet, and Lexa spends it staring out the window, brow furrowed in concentration. When they reach the building, Lexa hops out of the car and hurries upstairs to her apartment, ignoring Gustus’ hello.

Andrea looks up as Lexa storms in. She drops her bags and collapses onto the couch next to him, leaning against his side. “How was the doctor?” Lexa asks. Andrea stiffens, pulling away from her slightly, “Well, I think we should talk.”

Lexa turns to look at him, “What’s wrong?”

He takes her hands, “They ran some tests and it turns out I have stomach cancer. It’s not bad, only stage 2. I had a talk with a specialist, and she invited us over for dinner tomorrow to talk about my recovery plan.”

Lexa draws in a shaky breath, fighting the tears that prick at the edges of her eyes, “Okay.” She stands, “Is it okay if I go to Anya’s?” 

Andrea nods, and she rushes out of the apartment. Lexa runs down the stairs, hesitating at the door to the fourth floor before turning and continuing down. She exits the building through the back, not wanting to face Gustus and whoever else might be in the lobby. She runs until she can’t anymore, legs too exhausted to carry her forward. She’s in front of the park. It’s empty.

Lexa makes her way to the large pirate ship play structure, taking a seat next to the wheel. Her breaths are short and shallow, and she struggles to draw enough air into her lungs as she fumbles around for her phone. She punches out Costia’s number and raises her phone to her ear, praying that the other girl answers.

_ “Hi, this is Costia. Sorry that I can't come to the phone ri--” _

She ends the call, letting her phone drop from her hand. It buzzes a few seconds after it hits the floor, and Lexa is quick to answer the call. 

“Costia?”   


_ “No. It’s Anya.” _

“Oh. Do you need something?”

_ “Yeah. Your dad just came looking for you. He told me what happened.” _

Lexa’s finger swirls through the thin layer of sand on the floor.

_ “Where are you?” _

“Tell him I’ll be home for dinner.”

_ “Lexa,”  _ Anya’s voice is soft,  _ “Are you at the park?” _

She doesn’t answer. 

_ “I’ll be there in five minutes.”  _


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay i want to apologize for the very long wait. After 3x07 i couldn't get myself to focus on this and i honestly banged this chapter out last night so its probably really shitty. anyway, i promise i'll go back to updating every week. this chapter is all clexa, but not romantic clexa yet. but soon, i promise. like next couple chapters or so.

“Clarke, honey! Can you come open the door for me! I’ve got my hands full!” Abby yells up the stairs. The blonde shuts her laptop and hurries to her mom’s side, opening the door to outside as her mom balances a tray of sausages in one hand and a tray of vegetables in the other. She’s stressed, Clarke can tell from the way her words are short and clipped. But on the outside she looks perfectly composed, hair pulled back in a slick bun and red dress draping her body in an elegantly unruffled way. Clarke catches a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Her hair is messy and loose, her shirt and jeans stained with paint. They’re opposites. Clarke and Abby both know that, and they’ve come to accept it. Just so long as Abby doesn’t force Clarke to be super formal, and Clarke agrees to dress up when they have company. Speaking of, Clarke needs to change. It’s almost six.

She runs back upstairs, packing away her art supplies and tidying the rest of the mess in her room before looking through the three dresses she owns. Clarke wants to look nice. Apparently, her mom’s patient has a daughter Clarke’s age and she’ll most likely be entertaining her as the ‘grown-ups’ talk treatment plans. 

She finally pulls out the strapless black one that makes her boobs look A+, throwing it on and rushing to do her makeup and put her hair into a bun similar to her moms. By the time she’s finished, she hears a knock on the front door. A quick glance out the window confirms her mom is still busy outside, and she bounds down the stairs, throwing the door open a few seconds after the second knock. A woman a couple inches shorter than Clarke smiles warmly at her, holding tightly to a glass tray. “C’mon in,” Clarke smiles, moving out of the doorframe. “Oh, let me take that,” she grabs the tray from the woman, “Does this need to be refrigerated?” The woman nods and Clarke disappears into the kitchen, placing the tray in the refrigerator before poking her head outside. “Mom, they’re here.”

“Oh, shit,” Abby beckons her over, “Keep an eye on these while I go say hello.”

Clarke nods and takes the tongs from her mother, standing over the grill as she watches the sky turn pink. A few minutes later, the door opens back up, and Clarke turns around, expecting to find her mom. Instead, she comes face to face with Lexa.

The brunette tenses, eyes raking over the girl in an unfriendly way that makes Clarke feel small and bare. “Hello,” she greets anyway, turning back to flip a couple of the bell peppers. 

“Hello,” Lexa mutters, shuffling her feet awkwardly. She tugs at the collar of her button-up shirt, clearing her throat as she realizes Clarke’s not going to say anything more. “You have a very nice house,” Lexa mumbles, taking in the expanse of the backyard. “It’s very big,” she adds quietly.

Clarke snorts. Her house is the smallest in the neighborhood, something that Finn was quick to point out the first time he came over. Lexa’s face flushes, anger boiling in her blood as she thinks Clarke’s laughing is directing at her own family’s lack of money. 

“Sorry,” Clarke quickly states, taking in the look on Lexa’s face, “I’m not laughing at you. I swear. It’s just that that’s the opposite of what my ex said when he first came here.”

“Oh,” Lexa’s gaze shifts from the blonde to the concrete beneath her shoes. Clarke takes a moment to look her over. She’s dressed in a white (slightly see-through) button up, dark jeans, and a pair of navy vans. Her hair is half in braids, half in loose curls, and stray wisps of it catch the fading sunlight. Clarke can’t take her gaze away, even as Lexa looks back up. If anything, the green of the other girl’s eyes draw her in more. 

“Ummm,” Lexa finally breaks the eye contact, turning her attention to the grill. “You’re peppers are on fire.”

“Fuck,” Clarke spins back around, trying to extinguish the flames. 

“Here, let me,” Lexa gently nudges the blonde with her hip and grabs the towel from next to the grill. She beats at the flames, putting them out within a few seconds before grabbing the tongs and scraping off the charred remains of the once brightly-colored vegetables. 

“Oh, man my mom’s gonna kill me,” Clarke mutters. 

“Hey, Clarke,” Abby pokes her head out of the driveway, “Is the food done?”

“Yeah. But I burned a couple of the bell peppers,” Clarke admits, moving slightly closer to Lexa as her mom’s eyes narrow. 

Abby sighs, “Alright. It’s fine. Get back inside. Give Lexa a tour or something.”

Clarke nods and leads the brunette inside, “Let’s go upstairs?”

“Okay,” Lexa mumbles, trailing after the blonde as she leads them to her bedroom. 

Lexa’s jaw drops as they step in. The room is huge, probably three times as big as her own. The walls are a rich turquoise, and they’re covered in paintings and drawings (almost all of which seem to be done by Clarke). A queen sized bed rests against the wall opposite the door, covered in stuffed animals and pillows. On the wall to the right, a desk sits buried underneath stacks of sketchbooks and loose drawings. There’s a small bookcase filled with school supplies next to the desk, and dozens of basketball trophies line the top of it. 

Clarke watches Lexa take it all in, smiling at the hint of awe in her eyes. “Yeah, this is where I sleep.”

The brunette’s gaze snaps to Clarke, and the grin drops from the blonde’s face, “What?”

“Nothing,” Lexa shakes her head, turning away and walking over to one of the walls to get a better look at the drawings. 

Clarke takes a seat on her bed, grabbing the sketchbook and pencil she’d left laying on top of it earlier. Her hands itch to draw the girl in front of her, but she opens her book slowly, not wanting to draw attention to herself. She starts to sketch, eyes occasionally looking up at Lexa as the girl makes her way around the room. By the time Clarke’s hands and mind are satisfied, she’s filled two pages with sketches of the brunette. 

“You’re very good,” Lexa states, turning from the pictures on the wall to the artist who made them. “My girlfriend draws as well.”

“Costia,” Clarke smiles, shutting her sketchbook, “I know. She’s very talented.”

“So you’ve seen her work?”

“Yes,” Clarke lies. Well, half-lies. She’s seen Costia’s work, but the girl had never willingly showed it to Clarke.

“Which ones?”

“Oh, y’know,” Clarke gestures dismissively, “Some nature scenes, some drawings of you.”

Lexa blushes, a small smile curling at her lips, “Yes. She does like to draw me. Although I couldn’t tell you why.”

“You’re very attractive,” Clarke shrugs, fighting down the blush that’s already crept to her ears. 

Lexa’s eyebrow quirks up in curiosity. “You think I’m hot, Griffin?” she teases, walking up to the blonde.

“Well, I mean, sure. You’ve got a nice face and a nice body. And you move well.”

“I move well?” Lexa takes a seat next to Clarke, “What does that even mean?”

“Dunno, you just sort of exist and take up space in a very pleasing way.”

Lexa smiles down at her hands, “Alright Clarke. Draw me then.”

“Right now?”

“Sure,” Lexa shrugs leaning back on her elbows.

Clarke opens her sketchbook again, quickly flipping past the pages she’d already filled with drawings of Lexa. Her hands tremble slightly as she draws the almost familiar line of Lexa’s jaw and the subtle curve of her lips. She finishes the drawing just as Abby calls for them. 

Clarke shuts the book and jumps up, “I’m gonna wash my hands. You can too if you want.”

Lexa follows the blonde to the bathroom, washing up in the left sink as Clarke does the same in the right. They walk into the dining room quietly, taking seats across from each other. 

The dinner is quiet until Lexa mumbles something about Clarke and art and suddenly Andrea can’t seem to stop talking to the blonde. Halfway through he pulls out the pocket notebook he carries everywhere, handing it to Clarke so she can look inside. The rest of the dinner and all of dessert continues on in the same way, with light-hearted laughter and chatter filling up the room. The tiramisu Andrea made is excellent (as usual), and Lexa can’t hide her snort at the moaned expletive that drops from Clarke’s lips after her first bite. 

Once the food is done, the adults continue to drink and talk as Clarke and Lexa go out back. They’re both slightly tipsy and neither of them mind the cold wind that beats at their cheeks as they sit on the grass. 

“Wanna play some one-on-one?” Lexa asks, eyeing the basketball a couple feet away from them. 

“Are you sure you wanna take me on?” Clarke grins, already clambering to her feet. 

“Shof op,” Lexa laughs, “You and I both know that I could kick your ass anytime.”

“We’ll see,” Clarke muses, slipping off her heels and grabbing the pair of tattered Nike’s next to the basketball hoop. 

Lexa undoes the buttons on the cuffs of her sleeves, attempting to push them up. They keep slipping back down, and she pouts, turning to Clarke for some sort of help. The blonde grins and shakes her head before rolling the brunette’s sleeves up to her elbows as Lexa watches her intently. 

“How far are we going to?”

“Twenty? Singles?”

“Sure. Winner’s or loser’s?”

“Loser’s. It wouldn’t be fair to you if we did winner’s,” Clarke jokes.

Lexa rolls her eyes and throws the ball to the blonde, “Check.”

Clarke throws it back and Lexa quickly shoots it, nailing a perfect swish from about 15 ft away. 

“Show off,” Clarke laughs, grabbing the ball and setting herself up where Lexa was previously standing. 

“What can I say? I play well when I’m kinda drunk.”

Turns out Lexa’s not lying. She beats Clarke 20-13, a smirk on her face as her last shot sinks into the net. 

“Better start practicing, Griffin. Season starts in less than a month,” Lexa teases, collapsing back onto the grass as she tries to catch her breath. Her fingers move nimbly down the front of her shirt, unbuttoning it completely to allow her body to cool. Clarke sits next to her, willing herself to not look at Lexa’s torso. She adjusts the top of her dress, and the look Lexa sends at her chest doesn’t go unnoticed by the blonde. 

“See something you like?” Clarke flirts.

“Maybe if I was single,” Lexa smiles, propping herself up on her elbows, “And if you weren’t my arch-nemesis.”

“Are we still enemies? I thought maybe tonight changed that.”

“Tonight changes nothing,” Lexa says solemnly, “Tomorrow we will act as if nothing happened.”

“Why?” Clarke can’t keep the hurt out of her voice.

“Because. I am the Heda. If I was seen being friendly with you it would ruin my people’s trust in me.”

“Fine. Tomorrow I will pretend none of this ever happened.”

“Thank y--”

“On one condition,” Clarke interrupts, “Explain to me the deal with all your weird Grounder customs.”

“Customs?”

“Yeah. Y’know...the language….your position as Commander….the tattoos. What’s that all about?”

“Oh,” Lexa smiles and sits up fully, “Well, the language was something that the students first made for sports. It was a way to communicate without the other teams knowing what we were talking about. But then it escalated and we had this whole new language that we taught to the school. It’s actually one of the required classes now,” Lexa laughs.

The sound brings a small smile to Clarke’s face, “That’s pretty cool. But what about the whole Commander thing? You called yourself  _ Heda _ , right?”

“Yes. Heda is Trigedasleng for Commander. Every three years, a freshman is chosen to take over as Commander when the previous one graduates,” Lexa explains. 

“So this year you have to choose someone.”

“Yes.”

“But how do you pick?” 

“Well, there’s no set way. I just have to keep an eye out for somebody who I think would make a good Commander.”

“How were you picked?” Clarke leans in a bit, interested in the answer to her question.

“I saved the previous Heda’s life,” Lexa glances over at the blonde, “I pushed her out of the path of a car. So she made me the new Heda.”

“And the tattoos?” Clarke looks pointedly at the ink markings visible through the thin fabric of her shirt.

“Everyone else usually gets one each year, but I get two. One I choose, the other is the mark of the Commander.”

“Isn’t freshman year a little young to get tattoos?”

Lexa shrugs, “We’re not required to get them. Well, I am, but nobody else is. It’s more by choice. Something to commemorate our times together.”

“Are those the Commander ones?” Clarke asks, reaching out to touch her arm.

“Yes. The ones I got for myself are on my back.”

“Can I see them?”

“Just because I’m drunk doesn’t mean I’m going to get shirtless for you,” Lexa teases.

“Why not? You’re already halfway there,” Clarke laughs, gently poking at Lexa’s bare torso.

The brunette smiles and squirms away, quickly buttoning her shirt back up, “Not anymore you perv.”

Clarke rolls her eyes and collapses back onto the grass, resting her hands underneath her head as she gazes up at the clear night sky. Lexa mirrors her position, and the two of them lay there in comfortable silence until Abby comes out to tell them Lexa is leaving. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry if this seems rushed


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took so long and is so short. also lemme just say anya and lexa are my faves

“Anya wake up!” Lexa throws open the door to Anya’s bedroom, wincing as it slams against the wall. The older girl shoots up, eyes narrowing as they land on the sheepish looking brunette. “Lexa, why are you here? It’s,” she glances at her clock and groans, flopping back onto her mattress, “It’s three in the morning. Get out.”

“An- _ yaaa,”  _ Lexa pouts, flipping on the light switch, “I need you to take me to the store. I have to get balloons for Costia.”

“Make Andrea take you,” Anya whines.

“But he’s asleep.”

“So was I until you came in here!” she chucks her pillow at the younger girl.

Lexa catches it easily, holding it tight against her body as she frowns. “Yeah but now you’re awake. Also he needs his sleep, he invited the Griffin’s for dinner tonight so he has a long day of cooking.”

“Didn’t you just go to dinner at their house last night?”

“Yes, but you couldn’t go and he wants you to meet them before his treatments start tomorrow.”

“If I’m expected to stay awake through dinner then I need my sleep now.”

“You can sleep on the bus to Ark Academy!”

Anya groans and turns onto her stomach, burying her face into her mattress and trying to go back to sleep. “No, Anya! Get up!” Lexa walks to the bed and hits the older girl with her pillow. Anya slowly raises her head, eyes hard and angry as she glares at the brunette. Lexa gulps, “Anya I didn--”

The older girl pounces, just missing the fabric of Lexa’s shirt as her body topples over the side of the bed. She quickly clambers to her feet, chasing the younger girl through her apartment. She corners her against the arm of the couch, and Lexa throws the pillow in a last-ditch attempt to fend her off. Anya catches it with her left hand, her right one grabbing Lexa’s leg as the younger girl attempts to leap over the piece of furniture. Lexa crashes down against the cushions, and Anya quickly jumps on top of her, straddling the brunette’s waist as her knees pin down Lexa’s wrists. 

Lexa shrieks as Anya begins to beat her with the pillow, hitting her about ten times before finally giving in to Lexa’s pleas for mercy. She rocks back, sitting on the brunette’s thighs and unpinning her wrists. Lexa rubs at them, pouting up at the older girl, “Can we go now?”

Anya rolls her eyes and collapses forward, sandwiching Lexa between the couch and her body. “Twenty minutes. Give me twenty minutes and I’ll take you,” she yawns. 

“Fine,” Lexa huffs, wrapping her arms around Anya’s frame, “But you can’t hit me again when I wake you up...also you have to promise to be less grumpy.”

“Whatever you say kiddo,” Anya smiles, closing her eyes and letting the steady rhythm of Lexa’s heartbeat lull her to sleep.

* * *

“You two are up early,” Gustus smiles.

“Only because this asshole is making me take her to the store to get balloons.”

“Hey!” Lexa frowns, “It’s not my fault I’m trying to be a good girlfriend!”

“Yeah well you’re also ditching me at dinner tonight.”

“That’s because we’re celebrating at Costia’s!”

“Can you believe this Gustus?” She turns to the bearded man, “Lexa is leaving me alone with Clarke Griffin and her mother. What am I supposed to talk about with them?”

“You’re not going to be alone! My parents will be there!”

“Andrea’s gonna be cooking. And your mom works really late on Fridays.”

“Well, figure something out! Clarke’s not that bad. She likes basketball and art, the two things that you’ve chosen to center your life around.”

“I’m sorry, did you just say Clarke’s not that bad?”

“Oh, shof op,” Lexa shoves the older girl. 

“Gustus, you heard that right?”

“I did,” he nods solemnly. 

“She just told me that Clarke Griffin--her mortal nemesis--is ‘not that bad’.” Anya’s attention turns back to Lexa, who’s face is now red with embarrassment. “I’m sorry, did I hit you too hard with that pillow? C’mere let me check to make sure you don’t have a concussion.” She pulls the younger girl closer to her, pretending to examine her eyes and head for signs of injury. 

“Anya get off me,” Lexa squirms from the older girls grip. “We’re wasting time.”

“Fine, fine. We’ll see you later Gustus.”

“Goodbye girls,” he smiles, chuckling as Lexa drags Anya out the front door.

* * *

“Okay, we’re here, go get your stupid balloons,” Anya turns off the car and unlocks the doors.

“Wait, you have to come inside with me.”

“Why?”

“Because if you don’t you’ll fall asleep and won’t open the door when I come back.”

Anya sighs, “You know me so well.” She unbuckles her seatbelt and follows Lexa into the 24 hour convenience store. They go to the back, where all the balloons are, and Lexa picks out a flower, a smiley face, and cupcakes that say ‘Happy Birthday’. Even after the balloons are bought and paid for, they still have about an hour before they need to be at Kongeda High. 

“I can’t believe this. You could have woken me up an hour later.”

“In my defense, I thought it would take an hour longer to get you out of your bed.”

Anya rolls her eyes, “Well you’re buying me breakfast.” She turns into the lot of a donut place and sends Lexa out, waiting in her car as she watches her pick out a small box of the breakfast treats. The girl at the counter says something and Lexa laughs, accepting the box with a smile. She drops her changes into the tip jar and comes back outside, laughing quietly to herself as she shakes her head. 

Anya locks the doors just as Lexa reaches out to open them. The brunette frowns and knocks on the window, “Open up asshole!” Anya rolls down the window, “Hand over the donuts, I want to see if you got the kind I wanted.”

Lexa hands over the box, and after Anya searches through it, she unlocks the door. Lexa climbs into the front seat, “The sprinkle one is for Costia. And the sugar is for Lincoln. So don’t eat them.”

Anya nods and grabs the devil’s food before handing the box back to Lexa. They eat in the parking lot, making conversation well after they’ve finished their breakfast. 

* * *

“Happy Birthday!” Lexa jumps onto Costia. The taller girl catches her, laughing as Lexa presses a kiss to her cheek and a balloon hits the other side of her face. “Okay, hold still for a second,” Lexa turns a little and ties the balloons to Costia’s wrist, “Okay done. You can let me down.”

Costia lowers Lexa back to the ground and the younger brunette quickly runs over to the table with Costia’s gift and the donuts. “Here,” she thrusts the gift forward before opening the donut box. “I got you the sprinkle kind,” she smiles, grabbing it with a napkin before also handing it over. 

“Thanks Lexa,” Costia takes the donut and is about to bite into it when Lincoln hugs her from behind. “Happy Birthday!” He grins, handing over the gift bag in his hands, “This is from me and Lex.”

Lexa smiles and hands him his donut. “Don’t let coach see me eating this,” he jokes, biting about a quarter of it off. “You’re secret’s safe with us,” Lexa promises, throwing the empty pink box into the trash. She hooks her fingers into the loops of Costia’s jeans, gently tugging the taller girl between her legs. With Lexa on top of the table and Costia slightly hunched over, their height difference shrinks down to only a few inches, and Lexa takes the opportunity to kiss her. 

“You taste like donut,” Lexa says when she pulls away. Costia laughs, “No fucking duh.”

Lexa reaches up, pushing a curl behind Costia’s ear. The taller girl smiles sadly, quickly backing away from Lexa as she hears the bus pull up. “C’mon. We have to go.”

The bus ride is quiet. Costia pretends to fall asleep so she doesn’t have to talk. So she doesn’t have to finally tell Lexa what she’s been putting off this whole week. She thinks about the bags that are already packed. The furniture that’s almost all on it’s way to their new apartment. And she thinks about how heartbroken Lexa will be when Costia tells her tonight. 

* * *

“---birthday to youuuuuuuuuuu,” Lexa croons before smashing a cupcake in Costia’s face. The taller girl laughs and licks some of the icing from the corner of her mouth. “This is good,” she smiles.

“Can I taste?” Lexa grins, leaning closer to her. 

"Sure," Costia grabs her own cupcake and shoves it into Lexa's face as she leans in for a kiss. The smaller brunette huffs, "Okay, I guess I deserved that." She licks the icing from her lips, "Hey, this _is_ really good."

Costia laughs and leans forward, pressing a kiss to Lexa's cheek, "Thanks babe."

"You two are gross," Lincoln groans. "I'm not coming over if this is how you're gonna be all night."

"Okay fine, we'll tone it down tonight," Lexa grins. "Anya won't let us do anything in the car so you're safe. Right Cos?"

"Right," she smiles, trying to push away the sinking feeling in her stomach.

* * *

Clarke quickly gathers up her things as the bell rings, saying a quick goodbye to her friends as she walks to Bellamy’s car. Octavia shows up a few minutes later, ranting about how her Spanish teacher is a ‘fucking piece of shit’ until her brother arrives. Once they get in the car, she starts the rant all over again so Bellamy can hear it, and he quickly responds with stories of his own personal hatred towards Mr. Burnes, his History teacher. Clarke only half-listens, mind more focused on the fact that she’s going to Lexa’s house tonight. She’s going to see her and talk to her again. They can drop the whole rivalry for a couple of hours. Clarke’s body hums with excitement, something that the two siblings in the car quickly pick up on.

“So, Griff, why can’t you hang out today? Got a hot date?” Bellamy asks, eyes focused on the road ahead. 

Clarke laughs, but it’s too loud, too fast, and she can feel as Octavia stares at her from the backseat. 

“Who are you going out with Clarke?” Octavia asks. 

“I’m not going out. I have to go to dinner with my mom.”

“Dinner with who?”

“One of her patients.”

“Are they hot?”

“No. They’re old. They could be my dad.”

Octavia grins, leaning forward in her seat, “Do they have a hot kid?”

Clarke blushes and turns to look out the window. 

“They do!” Octavia squeals. “Send snapchats!”

“No.”

“Yes!”

_ “No.” _

“But Claaaaarke,” the brunette whines. “Bell, make her send pictures.”

Bellamy scoffs, “You know I can’t make Clarke do anything. She’s too stubborn to listen to anyone.”

“Hey!”

“You know it’s true,” he shoots to the blonde. 

“Yeah well, whatever. It’s just dinner with a pretty girl. Nothing’s going to happen.”

“You don’t know that.”

“She has a girlfriend. Also, even if I liked her and she liked me back we couldn’t date.”

“Why not? Too much of an age gap?”

“No.” Clarke’s saved from answering more questions once they pull up in front of her house. “Later guys,” she grins, all but running up the steps and into her house. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chapter will be clexa drama. i promise ya'll


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so so so so so sorry. It's been over a month and I am a terrible person. But school has finally cooled down and I have a lot more time to write so you can expect more regular updates. I'm gonna try my best to get this on a schedule of 1 chapter a week but we'll see how that works out. Also it''s been a while since I've written anything so I'm not super into this chapter.

Anya drops the three teenagers off at the park after school. Costia can feel the nerves building in her stomach as she watches Lexa and Lincoln throw a Nerf football around on the grass. Lexa looks over at her, smile stretched widely across her face. Lincoln takes this as the perfect opportunity to hit her in the side of the head, and she falls to the ground dramatically. Costia laughs and hops down from her swing, pushing aside her uneasiness as she approaches the other two. Lincoln immediately pulls her into a hug, pretending to cry onto her shoulder, “I’m so sorry for your loss.”

Costia sniffs, wiping away an imaginary tear, “That’s okay. I never liked her all that much anyway.”

“Asshole,” Lexa laughs, grabbing the football and throwing it at them. 

“You’re alive,” Costia gasps, rushing forward and throwing herself on top of Lexa, “Oh, thank goodness.”

Lexa grins and hugs her tight, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek before whispering, ‘Fucking traitor’ into the older girl’s ear. Costia laughs, rolling off of the younger girl and letting her limbs spread out on the grass. Lexa stretches out next to her, reaching out to grab her girlfriend’s hand. Lincoln fake gags before laying on the other side of Lexa, using the football as a cushion for his head. Together they watch as the clouds drift lazily across the slowly darkening sky. 

Costia can feel her heart sinking with the sun. As it drops down behind the trees the three teenagers stand up, brushing the dirt from their backs. Costia pushes aside her panic, keeping her hand steady as she reaches for Lexa’s. The shorter girl swings their arms as they walk, engaged in light-hearted argument with Lincoln about whether sunsets are prettier than sunrises. Costia only half-listens, preoccupied with trying to calm her racing heart as they walk up to her door. She fumbles with the key, her hand too shaky to get it into the lock on the first try. Lexa watches her worriedly, taking in the way Costia draws in a breath as she pushes the door open. However, Lexa’s attention quickly shifts as she takes in the complete lack of furniture in the house and the suitcases that wait along the front hall. “What the hell? Where’s all your stuff?” Lincoln asks, spinning around to look at Costia. 

She stares down at her shoes, “In the new house.”

“The new house?” Lexa frowns. “You’re moving?”

Costia nods, “Yes.”

“Where?”

“Polis.”

“Polis?!” Lexa’s eyes widen, “But that’s so far….When do you leave?”

Costia feels tears pricking at the corners of her eyes, “....Tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow,” Lexa’s voice cracks. “You--you’re leaving tomorrow?! And you didn’t think to fucking tell me before today?!”

“Lexa,” Costia reaches out to grab her hand, but Lexa’s body jerks back. “Lexa, please. I didn’t know how to tell you.”

“Bullshit! How long have you known?!”

“Lex--”

“How long?!”

“About a week.”

Lexa laughs, the sound hollow and angry. “You….were you even going to tell me? If I hadn’t come tonight would I have just woken up to some stupid goodbye text?!”

“Of course not Lexa. Please, just hear me ou--”

“No. No. You know what, fuck you I’m going home. Have fun in Polis.” 

Costia reaches out again, hoping to stop Lexa from leaving, but the younger girl is already slamming the door behind herself. Costia’s chest tightens, and she lets out a strangled breath before the tears start to fall. Lincoln pulls her into a hug, and she fists her hands in the material of his shirt. 

“I d-didn’t….I sh-should’ve said….should’ve t-told--”

“Yeah,” Lincoln whispers, “You should have. But I’ll go talk to her, okay?”

Costia nods and he starts to pull away, only for Costia to hold onto him tighter. “No w-wait,” she sniffles, “Please….stay a little longer. My mom made cake.”

Lincoln smiles, “Alrighty birthday girl. Cake it is.”

* * *

“Clarke,” Abby frowns, “You look nice.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“No, of course not. But, they said that it was a more casual dinner. I told you that it was fine to wear normal day clothes.”

“I know,” Clarke blushes, “I just….wanted to look nice….is that a crime?”

Abby smiles knowingly, grabbing her keys from the bowl on the counter, “No, of course not.”

“Not you too,” Clarke groans.

“What?” Abby laughs, pushing her daughter towards the door, “I didn’t say anything.”

“Just because I’m excited about dinner and want to look nice doesn’t mean I’m trying to impress anyone or get anyone’s attention. Okay?”

“I didn’t say that,” Abby locks the door behind them before unlocking the car in the driveway. Clarke huffs and climbs into the front seat, plugging in her earbuds before turning on her music. Abby rolls her eyes, choosing to pretend that she can’t tell her daughter has a bit of a crush. 

* * *

Clarke takes a quick, calming breath before knocking on the apartment door. A few moments later, Anya pulls it open, smiling warmly at the two of them. She leads them into the kitchen, where Andrea is standing over the stove, stirring a big pot of sauce. He immediately abandons the food when he sees them, rushing forward to pull them both into a hug. “How are you two doing? Long time no see,” he jokes, causing Anya to roll her eyes.

“Please don’t encourage him,” she says as Clarke and Abby laugh. 

“Anya,” he points his spoon at her, “Out of my kitchen! Go give them a tour or something.”

She nods and leads the other two out into the dining room. “This here is the room where we dine. That over there is the room in which we live. The door in the hallway is the room in which we bathe. The room at the end of the hallway is the room in which Lexa sleeps. That door over there is where we work, and the room connected to it is where those two sleep,” she finishes, gesturing to the two adults cooking in the kitchen. 

“What about you?” Clarke asks.

“What about me?”

“Where do you sleep?”

“Oh,” Anya shakes her head, “I don’t live here. I live two floors up.”

“And what about Lexa?” Abby butts in, earning a glare from Clarke. 

“It’s actually her girlfriend’s birthday tonight. They were going to celebrate so she won’t be home until tomorrow morni--”

The front door opens and the three girls in the dining room all turn to look at Lexa. Her eyes and nose are red, and her chest heaves as she stares at them. Anya takes a step forward and Lexa quickly darts past them, the door to her room slamming moments later. 

“Will you two excuse me for a moment,” Anya mumbles, not waiting for their answers before she hurries to Lexa’s room.

* * *

Lincoln stands up and stretches, the cake he had eaten making him slightly sleepy. Costia follows suit, leaning over to stretch out her back.

“Alright, you ready to open up your presents?” he asks, nodding at the two gifts next to the kitchen door.

“I guess so,” she sighs, grabbing the presents and setting them on top of the cardboard box they were using for a table. 

“This one’s from me and Lexa. And the other one is from her only.”

Costia picks up the present from the both of them first, fingers ripping at the bright blue wrapping paper. She gasps when she sees what’s inside, pulling out the new set of watercolors and the sketchbook. “Thank you,” she grins, throwing herself at Lincoln and wrapping her arms around him. He hugs her back, chuckling quietly, “Happy Birthday Cos.”

“Thanks Lincoln,” she pulls away, eyeing the other gift left on the table. 

“You don’t have to open it while I’m here,” he reassures her. “In fact,” he checks his watch, “It’s getting kinda late. I should probably head to Lexa’s so I can talk some sense into her before she goes to bed.”

“You don’t...,” Costia shakes her head, “You don’t have to talk to her.” Her jaw clenches as her eyes start to water, “This is my fault anyway. And she deserves to be upset with me.”

“Cos, we both know that the two of you are going to regret it if she’s not there tomorrow to say goodbye.” Lincoln stands and pulls on his jacket, “We’ll be at the airport to see you off. 10 a.m., right?”

“Yeah. Ten in the morning.”

Lincoln kisses Costia’s forehead, “Enjoy the rest of your birthday night Cos.”

“Oh, wait!” Costia runs into her bedroom and grabs her school sketchbook. “Can you give this to her?” 

* * *

“---and she decided to tell me today! She’s known for a fucking week and she just told me today!” Lexa paces back and forth as Anya watches from her spot on the bed. 

“Well,” Lexa spins around, “Aren’t you going to say something?”

“Yeah,” Anya sits up, “You’re being stupid.”

“What?! How am I being stupid?!”

“Look,” she pulls Lexa down next to her on the bed, “You and Costia have been together for three years! Yes, you deserve to be upset about the fact that she didn’t tell you she was leaving, but think for a moment Lexa. Is her not telling you really what you’re most angry about?”

“Yes! You said it yourself we’ve been together for three years! She should’ve told me. If she had told me then we could have sorted everything out! But instead we wasted our last week together….” Lexa frowns. 

Anya gives her a knowing look, “And now you’re wasting your last night together.” She stands up, “I’m gonna go see if your father needs any help. Do yourself a favor and call Costia.”

Lexa groans and falls back on her bed, reaching into her jacket pocket for her phone. She pulls it out and flicks to her contact, finger hovering over the call button as she chews on her bottom lip. She’s about to press it when the door opens and Lincoln walks in, tossing his sweatshirt onto her desk chair. 

“It’s time for dinner asshole,” he sets the sketchbook in his hands down next to her, “After we eat, we need to talk.”

* * *

Lexa makes Anya sit next to her. Clarke and Lincoln sit on the other side of the table with Abby, and Lexa’s parents sit on the two ends.

The conversation steers heavily towards the topic of school sports (having 3 athletes and 1 coach helps to keep it there). Throughout the meal, Clarke can’t help but watch Lexa,  mesmerized by the way she talks. And the way she smiles. And the way she laughs….and eats. And basically by the way she does anything.

Lexa doesn’t seem to notice her staring, but Lincoln does, and he’s quick to change the topic to art and the sketchbook Costia, Lexa’s ‘very nice, very talented and _ very pretty’ _ girlfriend, asked him to give her. 

The conversation quiets down as Lexa glares at the boy from across the table. 

“Clarke really likes art as well,” Abby declares, causing the blondes face the flush. 

“She’s very good at it,” Lexa smiles, “I saw some of her drawings the other night.”

“We’ll have to play Pictionary later,” Andrea grins.

“If we play you can’t be on the same team as Anya,” Lexa interjects. 

“What?! Listen, just because me and Andrea would kick all of your asses with our amazing teamwork doesn’t mean we need to be split up.”

“Every time you guys play on a team together you win!” 

“Don’t hate the players--”

“--Hate the game!” Andrea finishes, reaching across the table to high-five Anya.

“Yeah well if Costia were here then she and Lexa would give you a run for your money,” Lincoln laughs. 

“Yeah, invite Costia. Give us a real challenge,” Anya says, nudging Lexa with her elbow.

“I’d have to call her first,” Lexa mumbles, stabbing at the last piece of pasta on her plate, “And it’s her birthday. She’s probably too busy to come over.”

“Oh!” Andrea perks up, “I forgot! I made her a pie for her birthday and was going to ask you to give it to her. Would you please call and see if she wants to drop by for a game and some cake? Tell her that the invitation is also open to her parents.” 

“Yeah, fine.” Lexa stands and grabs her dishes from the table, “I’ll go call her right now.”

* * *

Costia quickly answers her phone, “Lexa. You called.”

_ “Yeah….look, I’m sorry for freaking out on you like that.” _

“Well I’m sorry for not telling you the second I found out. You had every right to be angry with me.”

_ “Maybe so, but I really don’t want to waste our last night together.” _

“Lex, what are we going to do when I’m gone?”

_ “Costia I love you, you know that…..and I’ve been thinking.” _

“Thinking what?”

_ “We’ve been together for a really long time.” _

“Three years, yeah,” Costia runs her fingers through her hair.

_ “Maybe this is some sort of test?” _

“A test?”

_ “Yeah.” _

“Alright,” Costia’s brow furrows, “I’m not sure what you’re getting at.”

_ “I think we should try long distance.” _

“Oh,” Costia exhales, “Oh. Okay.”

_ “If you want to just break up--” _

“No, no...no. But, I thought that maybe you would.”

_ “Well, I don’t.” _

“Good.”

_ “Yeah. Hey, are you busy tonight? My dad made you pie. And we need one more person to have even teams for Pictionary. Your parents are welcome to come as well.” _

“Hold on, lemme ask.” Costia holds her hand over the receiver, “Hey dad! Lexa’s inviting me over for pie and pictionary! Can I go?! She says you’re invited too!”

“Me and mom want to have an early night so we can leave early tomorrow! I can drive you over but you’ll need to get a ride back!”

“Okay! Thanks dad!” She holds the phone back up to her ear, “He says I can come but I need a ride back.”

_ “Anya can drive you home.” _

“Did you ask her if she could?”

_ “Do I ever ask her things in advance?” _

Costia laughs, “Alright Lex. I’ll be over in 10.”

* * *

Once introductions and cake are out of the way, Andrea brings out the Pictionary boar, a couple notepads, and a handful of assorted pens and pencils. “How are we splitting the teams? Are we doing two teams of four or four teams of two?”

“Two teams of four?” Lexa offers, “Adults versus kids?”

“Deal. You’re going down kid,” Anya jabs her finger into Lexa’s chest.

\--

“Pointy oval!”

“Chicken!”

“Meatloaf?”

Lexa huffs and adds some more lines to her drawing.

“Zebra meatloaf?”

“Stop being stupid Lincoln and make a real guess!” Lexa adds some teeth to her drawing.

“Oh,” Clarke slaps at the table, “Tiger shark!”

“Yes! Thank you. Finally a  _ good _ answer.”

“What?! That looks nothing like a shark!”

“Shut up Lincoln, you know I can’t draw.”

\--

“Fish!” Anya yells out.

“Yeah!” Andrea laughs and high fives her. 

“That’s literally a circle how the hell did you get fish?!” 

“I told you Lexa, me and your dad are the best at this.”

\--

“Round!”

“Earth!”

“Some sort of planet?”

Costia quickly draws in the face of the monster.

“It’s Lexa!”

“You’re such an ass!” Lexa says, smacking him on the arm, but him and the rest of her team are too busy cracking up to notice. 

Needless to say, they can’t compose themselves enough to guess the right answer. 

\--

Anya moves the piece to the last square, setting it down next to the other teams. It’s an all draw, and her and Lexa are facing off. Both of them let out a similar sort of pained groan when they see it. 

“Alright folks,” Lincoln grabs the timer, “This is for the win….and the first slices of pie.” He waits for both girls to have their pencils against the paper, “Okay go!”

“Rectangle!”

“Balloon!”

“Chair!”

“Piano!”

“Music!”

“Piano music!”

“Piano player?”

“Piano bench?”

“Piano child?”

“Costia what the hell is a piano child?”

“Shut up Lincoln I’m trying to concentrate.”

“Composer?”

“Child comp--MOZART!” Clarke yells out. 

“Yes!” Lexa throws her pencil down and tackles Clarke in a hug. Lincoln and Costia quickly join in as the adults grumble about their loss. 

* * *

“Holy crap,” Clarke’s eyes widen as she takes her first bite, “This is amazing.”

Andrea blushes, “Thank you, Clarke. But I think I may have cooked it for too long. And not all of the apples were that fresh.”

Anya shakes her head, “Don’t listen to him. He always says stuff like that but his pies are always delicious.” She quickly cuts a piece for herself and goes to stand by Lexa, “I can’t believe I lost to you.”

“Hey!” Lexa objects, angrily shoving her forkful of pie into her mouth.

“I can’t believe it either,” Lincoln laughs. “But the true MVP is Clarke, since she’s the one who actually guessed it correctly.”

“That’s right,” Costia nods and holds her fork up, “To Clarke!”

“To Clarke!” Lincoln and Lexa both chime in before stuffing their mouths with more food.

* * *

“Alright, we should probably head out,” Abby says, setting her wine glass down on the coffee table. She and Clarke are the last two guests, Lincoln and Costia having gone home about an hour before.

“Lexa, would you go cut them some pie to take home?” Andrea asks.

“Yeah,” she nudges Clarke, “C’mon.”

The blonde follows Lexa into the kitchen, hopping up onto the counter as Lexa cuts her a large piece of pie. 

“I forgot to tell you earlier but you look nice today,” Lexa smiles, grabbing one of the tupperware containers from the cabinet.

“Thanks,” Clarke blushes, ducking her head down and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “So….you and Costia?”

Lexa slides the dessert into the container, “What about us?”

“You guys are…..cute.”

“You don’t sound too sure about that,” Lexa jokes, “Are you lying to me?”

“No,” Clarke furiously shakes her head, “No it’s true. You guys are cute.” And as much as she hates it, it is true. Lexa and Costia  _ are  _ cute together, no matter how hard it is to admit it. 

“Yeah, I know,” she grins, handing the pie to Clarke, “But thanks for reminding me.”

“You know what? I take that back. Only Costia’s cute.”

Lexa pouts, “You don’t think I’m cute?”

“Hmm,” Clarke pretends to think, “Nope.”

“Asshole,” Lexa gently shoves Clarke’s shoulder, “I give you a compliment and this is the thanks I get?”

“Woooow, I didn’t know you had turned into some gross man on the streets.”

Lexa laughs and quickly lowers her voice a few octaves, “Hey sexy lady, show me those titties.”

“I’d appreciate it if you took her on a date first,” Abby smiles, walking into the kitchen and taking the pie from Clarke. Both girls immediately flush and look down at the ground. “I’m only joking,” Abby laughs, “C’mon Clarke. It’s time we get going.” 

Clarke hops down from the counter and holds her hand up to Lexa for a high-five. The brunette laughs and intertwines her fingers with Clarke before pulling her into hug. “You’re so weird,” she whispers, her breath tickling the shell of Clarke’s ear and causing her to shiver. 

“Shut up,” Clarke laughs, pushing the girl away. Lexa walks her to the door where Abby’s waiting. 

“See you at school on Monday.”

“See you Lexa,” Clarke smiles, following her mom to the elevator. 

“So….I didn’t know Lexa had a girlfriend,” Abby presses the door close button.

“Yeah. Costia.”

“She’s very nice.”

“Yup.”

Abby wraps an arm around the blonde’s shoulders, “I’m sorry Clarke.”

“Yeah,” she leans into her mom, “Me too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah sorry again for taking so long to update and for the generally shitty chapter


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is kinda short and kinda fast paced but i wanted to get it out so that i could make next chapter longer and more slow

“Get in loser we’re going shopping.”

“Have you even seen Mean Girls?”

Lincoln shakes his head and leans over to unlock the passenger door, “Nope. But I know you haven’t either so you can’t shame me.”

“That’s fair,” Lexa climbs into the car, “Are we getting breakfast?”

“Sure, I think there’s a McDonald’s on the way. But you’re buying.”

“That’s cool I’ve got like fifteen bucks.”

Lincoln pulls out of the driveway, “So you and Clarke….?”

“What about me and Clarke?”

“You guys are friends?”

“I don’t know,” Lexa shifts in her seat, “I just met her on Thursday.”

“But you get along?”

“I mean yeah she’s pretty cool. I’ve only hung out with her twice though.”

“I always thought the two of you were…..what was it? Oh yeah, ‘sworn enemies whose rivalry is even more intense than Harry and Draco’s ever was’.”

Lexa blushes and turns to stare moodily out the window, “Well I didn’t  _ know _ her then.”

“And now you do? I thought you’ve only hung out with her twice?”

“What’s with all the questions?” She turns to glare accusingly at him.

“I’m just trying to make conversation.” He pulls into the drive-thru McDonalds. “What do you want?”

“Sausage McMuffin and two hash browns.”

Lincoln moves up to the speaker. It crackles for a second before a static-y voice comes through.

_ “Welcome to McDonald’s. Can I take your order?” _

“Yeah can we get three Sausage McMuffins and three hash browns.”

_ “Is that all?” _

“Oh right can we also get two small coffees?”

_ “Got it. Okay so three Sausage McMuffins, three hash browns, and two small coffees.” _

“Yup.”

_ “Okay that’ll be $8.83 at the first window.” _

“Thanks, have a nice day.” 

Lexa pulls her nine dollars out of her pocket and hands it to Lincoln who then gives it to the guy at the window. 

“Okay, so seventeen cents is your change,” he hands over the coins, a bag of food, and the two coffees. “Enjoy your meal.”

“Thanks,” the two teenagers respond in unison before Lincoln drives off. 

* * *

Clarke rolls onto her side, yawning as she reaches out to grab her phone from her nightstand.

_ 28 new messages from ‘clarkes secret crush’ _

_ 10 new messages from ‘Clarke’s Secret Crush 2.0’ _

_ 5 new messages from ‘Bellamy’s a fucking failure’ _

_ 3 new messages from ‘is clarkey-poo here?’ _

“Why me?” she mumbles. Clarke knows that it’s way too early for her friends’ nonsense, but she opens the messages anyway.

 

**clarkes secret crush**

**_My better half:_ ** _ alright fuckwads listen up _

**_My better half:_ ** _ griffs got a secret love interest that she refuses to tell us the deets of which means that we gotta find this girl 4 ourselves _

**_The Firstborn:_ ** _ Octavia this already sounds like a terrible idea. _

**_My better half:_ ** _ shut up bell _

**_Jasper:_ ** _ Idk I’d have to agree with Bellamy on this one. Your schemes never end well _

**_My better half:_ ** _ ya know what jasper i was gonna ask you to use ur nerd skillz but i guess i need to just put total faith in monty instead _

**_Jasper:_ ** _ Hey! We all know I’m the computer genius :( _

**_The Firstborn:_ ** _ So is Monty!  _

**_My better half:_ ** _ also hes easier to work with _

**_Jasper:_ ** _ Yeah, yeah. We all know Monty is the favorite. _

**_The Firstborn:_ ** _ Cheer up buddy, I’m sure you’re Monty’s favorite :D _

**_Jasper:_ ** _ Nope. I’m pretty sure it’s Clarke _

**_My better half:_ ** _ O: _

**_My better half:_ ** _ im offended its not me _

**_Jasper:_ ** _ Well imagine how I feel! _

**_My better half:_ ** _ dont worry, ur mayas favorite ;) _

**_The Firstborn:_ ** _ Maya? Who’s Maya? _

**_My better half:_ ** _ maya vie _

**_Jasper:_ ** _ How did you even find out about that?! _

**_My better half:_ ** _ i know everything >:) _

**_My better half:_ ** _ except who clarkes mystery lover is so lets please get back to that _

**_The Firstborn:_ ** _ Okay fine what’s the plan? _

**_My better half:_ ** _ im glad you asked _

**_My son <3: _ ** _ WAIT! OCTAVIA DON’T SAY ANYTHING! _

**_My better half:_ ** _ why not? _

**_My son <3: _ ** _ our little griffin is in this chat _

**_My better half:_ ** _ oh shit ur right _

**_Jasper:_ ** _ I’ll make a new one _

 

**Clarke’s Secret Crush 2.0**

**_Jasper:_ ** _ Okay guys. This is the new chat. _

**_My better half:_ ** _ alrighty lets do roll call _

**_My better half:_ ** _ jasper? _

**_Jasper:_ ** _ I mean I was the first one to text something _

**_Jasper:_ ** _ So I’m here _

**_My better half:_ ** _ monty? _

**_My son <3: _ ** _ present! _

**_My better half:_ ** _ good <3  _

**_My better half:_ ** _ lesser blake? _

**_The Firstborn:_ ** _ -.- I’m here.  _

**_The Firstborn:_ ** _ And so is Clarke. Way to go Jasper. _

**_Jasper:_ ** _ Shit. My bad guys _

**_The Firstborn:_ ** _ It’s fine I’ll make a new one. _

 

**Bellamy’s a fucking failure**

**_The Firstborn:_ ** _ Hello again. _

**_My better half:_ ** _ clarkes here bitch _

**_The Firstborn:_ ** _ Hey! Octavia how did you change the chat name?! _

**_My better half:_ ** _ magic _

**_The Firstborn:_ ** _ Change it back! _

 

**is clarkey-poo here?**

**_My son <3: _ ** _ yes. she is here _

**_My better half:_ ** _ fuq _

**_My son <3: _ ** _ youre all hopeless im making the new chat _

Clarke groans and tucks her phone in her waistband. She needs breakfast and a chance for her brain to fully wake up before she can grill Octavia about her ‘plan’. 

Clarke rubs at her eyes as her feet hit the carpet. She stands. Her body feels heavy, and her steps are slow as she makes her way downstairs to the kitchen. Clarke moves methodically, placing a bagel in the toaster before slicing up a bowl of fruit. 

She eats slowly, scrolling through her instagram dash as she does so. An idea pops into Clarke’s head, and she types ‘lexa woods’ into the search bar. A couple names pop up, but she clicks on the one that says ‘woods.lexa15’. The account is private, but she can tell it’s Lexa from the bio and profile picture. Her thumb hovers over the follow button as she debates whether or not this is wierd. 

_ Fuck it. _

She taps the screen. 

* * *

Lexa quickly hops out of the car, downing the rest of her coffee before she throws all of the trash away in the parking lot’s garbage bin. Lincoln locks his car and checks the watch on his wrist, “Alright so their flight leaves in about 2 hours. They should be here any minute so we should go wait right outside.”

“Lead the way. I’m going to call Costia and see where they’re at.” 

Lincoln starts in the direction of the Polis Airlines sector while Lexa pulls out her phone.

_ “Hey Lexa. What’s up?” _

“Me and Lincoln are here. Are you guys close by?”

_ “Yeah we just pulled up. I can see you guys walking.” _

Lexa looks up, smiling as she sees Costia waving her hand. “Alright I’m hanging up.” She ends the call and shoves her phone in her pocket before grabbing Lincoln’s wrist and running towards them. 

Lexa jumps into Costia’s arms, squeezing her tightly. Costia sighs. Her fingers thread through Lexa’s hair, “I’m gonna miss you.” 

“I’m gonna miss you too.” Lexa lets go of Costia, moving back so she can hug Lincoln. 

“Take care of yourself Costia,” he murmurs.

“Of course,” she pulls away, eyes teary as she turns back to Lexa.

Lexa quickly envelops her in another hug, “Please don’t cry. If you cry, I’m gonna cry. And then Lincoln’s gonna cry. And it’ll all be one big mess.”

Costia smiles, hugging Lexa tighter as she sniffles, “I’m trying not to.”

“Too late,” Lexa laughs, pulling away from the embrace, “I’m already crying anyway.”

Costia smiles, leaning in to kiss Lexa. Lexa’s hands tug Costia’s hips closer. Lincoln smiles awkwardly at Costia’s parents as the two girls continue to kiss.

“Nice weather for flying,” he offers, glancing up at the cloudless sky.

“It definitely is,” Costia’s father responds, “Hopefully it’ll make the trip a bit shorter.”

“Yeah hopefully,” Lincoln looks down at his watch, “You guys should probably start heading in.”

“You’re right,” Costia’s father grabs two of the bags and her mother grabs the other one. “We’ll be waiting right inside. You kids say your final goodbyes.” 

Lincoln loudly clears his throat, and the two girls break apart. The both turn him, eyes filled with tears, and he feels his resolve crumble. “C’mere,” he murmurs, holding his arms open. 

The three of them hug, knowing that it’s going to be a long while before they’re all back together again. 

“We’re gonna miss you Costia,” Lincoln smiles, trying his best to reduce the amount of tears leaking from the corners of his eyes. 

“I’m gonna miss you guys too. But I’ll come back and visit.”

“You better,” Lexa sniffs.

“I will. I swear.” Costia gives each of them a kiss on the cheek. “Goodbye.”

“Call us when you get to Polis.” Lexa takes Costia’s hand, “I love you.”

Costia squeezes it, “I love you too.”

Lexa and Lincoln watch with heavy hearts as Costia makes her way into the airport. 

“I guess it’s just me and you,” Lincoln says after she’s disappeared from sight.

“Yeah. Just me and you,” Lexa sighs.

* * *

Octavia picks up her phone as she hears it go off.

_ 1 new message from ‘the clarke to my lois’ _

**_the clarke to my lois:_ ** _ okay whats this secret plan that you made to find my mystery girl _

“Shit,” she quickly taps out a response.

**_Me:_ ** _ what plan? _

**_the clarke to my lois:_ ** _ dont play dumb with me o _

**_Me:_ ** _ im not? what plan are you talking about? you know i come up with a lot _

**_the clarke to my lois:_ ** _ the one from the chat ‘clarkes secret crush’ _

**_Me:_ ** _ oooooooooohhhh _

**_Me:_ ** _ that plan. right _

**_the clarke to my lois:_ ** _ are you going to tell me who it is? _

**_Me:_ ** _ are you gonna tell me who your mystery woman is?! _

**_the clarke to my lois:_ ** _ no _

**_Me:_ ** _ then better luck next time griff but this plan is remaining a secret _

Octavia quickly mutes their conversation and shoves her phone into her pocket. “Bellamy!” she yells down the hallway, “Let’s go somewhere!”

“Where is somewhere?!”

“I don’t know! Your pick!”

“Go Karts?!?!”

“Bellamy you know we can’t do Go Karts after what happened last time!”

“Mini Golf?!”

“No can do! I’m banned from there remember?!”

“The Plex?!”

Octavia immediately perks up, “Actually, yeah! That sounds great! I’ll text Monty and Jasper to meet us there!”

“Alright! I gotta get dressed! Be ready in 10 minutes!”

* * *

Lincoln turns onto an unfamiliar street, “I have a surprise for you.”

“Really? Why?”

“Because I knew we’d both be sad about Costia leaving. And I also knew we’d be near Arkadia.”

“Good planning. What’s the surprise.”

“I can’t tell you!” 

“Why not?” Lexa pouts.

“Because then it wouldn’t be a surprise dumbass.”

“Fine. Fuck you.”

Lincoln laughs, “Relax hot shot. We’ll be there any second.”

“Ooooo so it’s a place?”

“Yes. It is a place.”

“Is it a food place?”

“It’s an everything place.”

“Oh shit, wait. Is it the famous Arkadia Complex? _ ” _

Lincoln pulls into the parking lot in front of a massive, 4-story building. “Right you are, my love.”

“Isn’t this technically...ya know,” Lexa’s voice drops to a husky whisper,  _ “Enemy territory?” _

“Well I used to think so, but now you have a best friend who lives here.”

Lexa rolls her eyes and climbs out of the car, “Can we talk about something besides Clarke?”

“Sure. Let’s talk about how I’m gonna kick your ass at everything here.”

“I’d like to see your punk ass try,” Lexa scoffs. “Also, what do they even have inside here?”

Lincoln shrugs, “Beats me. But I’ve heard this place is cool as shit.”

The two teens step inside, both of their mouths dropping open as they survey the space in front of them. The bottom floor is split into two sections. One is filled with a long row of bowling lanes, the other is filled with arcade games.

“Okay let’s take a look at the directory,” Lincoln tugs Lexa over to a large sign. “Floor one: bowling and arcade. Floor two: roller skating. Floor three: laser tag. Floor four: food court. And then they have an outdoor movie theater at night.”

“This place is fucking ridiculous,” Lexa whispers.

“Maybe so, but you can’t honestly say you don’t want one in TonDC.”

“True.”

“Alright then, what are we doing first?”

“Well there’s an air hockey table right there that’s calling my name.” Lexa smirks, “Ready to lose the first game of today?”

“You bet your ass I am.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> stay tuned for the awkward meet up scene where grounders and spacewalkers collide ;)


	11. Chapter 11

After winning the 6th game of air hockey in a row, Lexa switches her attention to the Cyclone game a few feet away. She watches as a little boy hovers over the button, eyes glued to the light that rapidly makes its way around the middle. The boy quickly pushes down on the button, frowning as it lands a few spaces after the jackpot. A small string of tickets comes out of the slit, and he takes them before running off.

Lexa moves into his spot in front of the machine. She takes a couple of the tokens from her pocket and drops them into the coin slot. Her first turn results in a measly two tickets. Her second results in five. And just a second before she can hit the button for a third time, Lexa hears somebody call out to her. 

“Hey Woods,” an angry looking brunette stalks over to her and Lincoln, followed by three boys. “What the hell are you two Grounders doing here?”

“I believe I was in the middle of winning.” Lexa turns back to the game, waiting for a couple seconds before calmly smashing the button. The jackpot light flashes, the machine make a congratulatory beep, and tickets start to slide out of the machine and form a pile on the ground. Octavia huffs. Lincoln helps Lexa neatly fold up the tickets.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Lexa slips the winnings into her pocket, “Did you guys need something?”

“You think you’re hot shit, don’t you Woods?”

Lexa rolls her eyes, and she and Lincoln brush past the little group to get to the basketball game. 

Octavia and the other three follow them, sneering as Lincoln hands Lexa a few more tokens. The scoreboard lights up with the names of previous record holders, and Lexa notices that all the spots read ‘C Griff’. 

“Good luck beating her score,” Bellamy says, “Nobody in Arkadia has ever been able to.”

Lexa laughs, “Watch how it’s done.” She starts up the game, immediately throwing up the balls as the roll down into the bottom section. Lincoln doesn’t bother hiding his smirk as shot after shot go in. Lexa remains calm and poised, each basketball leaving her fingertips with an elegant spin. 

She passes Clarke’s highest score with 8 seconds left on the clock. By the time it reaches 0, she’s thirteen points over. Lincoln grabs the tickets as Lexa types in her name. The Ark Academy gang watches speechlessly. 

“Oh  _ however _ did you beat Clarke’s score?” Lincoln asks, faking a snooty accent. 

“Well, I find that if you can beat somebody in a one on one scrimmage, then the stuff like this is easy.”

“You guys scrimmaged last night?” Lincoln asks.

“No we scrimmaged on Thursday at her house.”

“Wait, pause,” Octavia holds up a hand, the gears in her brain churning as she processes the new bit of information. “You were with Clarke last night?”

“Yes. She came over for dinner.”

Octavia’s face pales and she starts to repeatedly slap Bellamy’s arm. “Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit, holy shit. Bell. Monty. Jasper,” she whirls around and pulls them into a tight huddle. “It’s Woods. That’s who our little Hippogriff has a crush on.”

“Well that explains why she didn’t want to tell us who it was,” Bellamy mutters. 

Octavia grins, “I have a plan.”

Monty shakes his head, “Oh please no.”

Octavia pulls away from the group, turning back to Lexa and Lincoln with a wide grin, “So are you two free today?”

“Why?” Lexa asks, eyes narrowing in suspicion. 

“We’d like to issue a challenge. Three games. Losers buy ice cream and have to put a picture on social media of them wearing the other school’s apparel.”

“What games?”

“Bowling, laser tag, and a roller skating race.”

Lexa and Lincoln share a look before a smile breaks out across both their faces. “Deal,” Lincoln laughs, “I hope you guys look good in green and brown.”

* * *

Lexa high fives Lincoln as she gets her 3rd strike in a row. The four teens from Ark Academy stare dumbfounded at the scoreboard.

“I told you this was a terrible idea,” Monty mutters. Octavia huffs and jumps to her feet. She grabs a light blue bowling ball and walks up to the lane. She raises the ball to her chest and stares down the pins before swinging her arm back. 

_ Please get a strike. _

She lets go of the ball and watches as it rolls about halfway before falling into the gutter.

_ Fuck. _

“Try to aim more for the left side. Your throw always hooks right,” Lincoln advises, ignoring the glare Lexa gives him. 

“I don’t need your help,” Octavia mutters. But she does as he says anyway, watching as the ball knocks down eight of the pins. 

“Sure you don’t,” Lincoln smiles.

* * *

“Okay so we may have lost round one, but we still have two more that could push us into the winning spot.”

“I hope you know that I hate you,” Bellamy mutters, lacing up his roller skates. 

“I don’t,” Lincoln grins at Octavia from his spot on the floor, “I think this is very fun.”

“Yeah well maybe if you weren’t winning…”

“Oh Bellamy, don’t be so grumpy. We both know that we’re going to win this round,” Octavia says. 

“Only because we can’t skate well,” Lexa grumps, arm crossing over her chest. 

“That’s why we’re giving you a three second head start,” Octavia clambers to her feet. She skates onto the empty rink, taking a few warm up laps as the others slowly start to join her. Lexa and Lincoln move unsteadily, occasionally grabbing onto the wall to keep from face planting. Octavia watches them with a small smile. She can see why Clarke has a crush on Lexa. She manages to look elegant and composed even while her arms are flailing and she’s losing her balance. Jasper makes the mistake of coming too close, and Lexa accidentally whacks him in the chest, causing him to fall backwards. He knocks into Bellamy and they both land in a heap on the ground. Lexa’s jaw drops as Monty and Octavia burst into laughter. 

“I’m so sorry,” Lexa reaches out a hand and pulls them up, keeping herself steady by wrapping her other arm around the wall railing. 

“It’s fine,” Bellamy says, straightening out his shirt as he tries to remain dignified. 

Lincoln sighs as he rolls up next to Octavia, “She’s such a fucking klutz.”

“Is she?” Octavia’s brow quirks. 

“Yes. She just does a good job of hiding it.”

The watch as Lexa once again almost falls on her face, managing to save herself at the very last second. 

“As you can see, it tends to come out a bit more when she’s on rollerskates.”

“Yeah why did you guys agree to this if neither of you skate well?”

“Hey! I skate well. I’m keeping my balance standing here with you aren’t I?”

Octavia shakes her head, “You have a death grip on the rail.”

“Yeah well I could let go if I wanted to.”

“Then do it.”

“Fine.” Lincoln releases his grip on the metal, body tensing as he tries to keep himself still. “Ha! I told you I could do it!” Unfortunately, he makes the mistake of leaning back, and ends up losing his balance. He grabs onto Octavia’s arm in a futile attempt to keep himself upright, and ends up dragging her down as well. He lands on his back. She lands on his chest. 

“Shit,” Lincoln pushes himself up, rubbing at the back of his head. 

“You okay?” Octavia asks.

“I think so.”

She reaches up and gently touches his temple, “Who was the first president?”

“George Washington.”

“What’s five times ten?”

“Fifty.”

“How many fingers am I holding up?” 

“Four.”

“No,” she frowns, “Five.”

“No. Four. The thumb’s not a finger.”

Octavia rolls her eyes, “Whatever. I think you’re okay.”

“Great! Now would you mind getting off of me?” Lincoln smiles.

“Hey! You’re the one who pulled me down!”

“Relax,” he laughs, “I’m just messing with you.”

“Will you two lovebirds get over here!” Jasper yells. “We need to have this race so we can go play laser tag!”

Lincoln and Octavia both blush and clamber to their feet, quickly skating over to the group. They decide to go from one end to the other and back. 

“On your marks, get set, go!” Monty yells. The six teens push off the wall, speeding towards the one on the opposite side. Octavia quickly takes the lead, Lexa trailing just behind her. For somebody who doesn’t know how to skate, she sure moves fast. Octavia makes a quick turn around as she reaches the wall, something Lexa isn’t capable of doing. She falls further behind, and Octavia smiles as she hears her friends cheering behind her. 

Her hands reach out and grab the rail as she stops herself. Lexa slams into the wall next to her with a groan. It’s now tied 1-1. And what better game for a tiebreaker than laser tag.

* * *

“Are you sure you want to play four on two?” Bellamy asks, tightening his vest.

Lexa grins, “Positive. Me and Linc could smoke you guys either way.”

“I wouldn’t count on that,” Jasper chimes in, “Octavia goes into full beast mode when we play this.”

“Well then,” Lincoln tests his gun, “I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

They step into the arena, the two Grounders heading to the other side to wait for the countdown. 

“Game plan?” Lincoln turns to Lexa.

“Yeah. You go left, I go right. Try not to get shot. And don’t let Octavia distract you.”

“Octavia? What are you talking about?”

“You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

Lincoln’s about to try and defend himself when the clock buzzes, signaling the beginning of the game. Lexa quickly moves to the right, ducking behind the various walls and obstacles as she looks for the others. She spots Jasper first, hiding behind a large panel about a dozen feet away. His back is turned, and he seems to be looking at something farther away that Lexa can’t see. 

She raises her gun and lines up her shot before pulling the trigger. His vest buzzes, and she hits him once more before he starts to shoot back at her. She ducks behind her barrel, peeking over the top and watching him scamper away. He’s got one life left. She chases after him. 

Meanwhile, Lincoln stalks Bellamy through a corner of the arena. He keeps his gun up, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. It comes when Bellamy and Monty meet. The larger boy stops to say something to Monty when Lincoln shoots him. He takes another shot, but Bellamy dives behind a wall just in time. Monty shoots back, hitting Lincoln’s target twice before the Grounder finally takes better cover. He can hear movement to his right, and when he turns, he can make out the glow of Bellamy’s target. Lincoln moves quickly, rolling from his panel to the next and getting another couple shots off at Bellamy. The boy fires back, just missing Lincoln’s target, but it’s enough to send the Grounder diving behind one of the bigger walls. 

He hears Bellamy run off, presumably in search of backup since he only has one life left. Lincoln glances through the hole in the wall, spotting Monty creeping around in the empty middle ground. He shoots him twice, before Monty spots where he is. The boy charges at him, and they both shoot, simultaneously hitting each other’s vests. They’re both out. 

They return back to the bench to find Jasper sitting there angrily. 

“Lexa killed you, didn’t she,” Lincoln laughs.

“I was turned the other way! And then she cornered me. I didn’t even hit her once!”

Monty gently pats Jasper’s back, “It’s alright buddy. We’ll get her next time.”

“I’ll help,” Bellamy huffs, taking a seat next to Lincoln. 

“She got you too?”

“Yes!” He pulls off his vest, “I didn’t even see her! Even after she shot me I couldn’t find her!”

“That’s my Lexa,” Lincoln grins, looking very pleased. 

“Yeah well my Octavia is gonna kick her ass.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Lincoln frowns.

Bellamy scoffs, “Please, you’ve never seen Octavia play.”

“And you’ve never seen Lexa.”

Octavia suddenly bursts out from behind a wall, running in a zig zag as she fires shots off at the girl behind her. All four boys quickly move up to the window, pressing against the glass as they watch their friends battle it out. 

Lexa had managed to hit Octavia once, but the other girl had hit her twice in their chase. Lexa sits behind a barrel, gun clutched tightly in her hand as she brushes back a loose strand of hair. Octavia peaks over the low panel she’d run behind. She hadn’t seen where Lexa hid, and she still couldn’t see any sign of the other girl. She straightens herself out, daring to venture a few feet forward before she’s shot. 

“Fuck,” she dives back behind the panel. “Well, I guess it’s anyone’s game now Woods!”

She hears a low chuckle from behind the barrel and immediately points her gun at it. 

“C’mon out Woods! Let’s settle this!”

“My pleasure,” Lexa jumps up, firing a shot at Octavia. The younger girl just barely moves out of the way in time.

Lexa ducks back down and turns to the window. ‘Film this’ she mouths to Lincoln, readying her gun. He nods and sends her a thumbs up, pulling out his phone and opening the camera. “Pay close attention boys, this is where we win,” he boasts. 

Lexa closes her eyes and counts to five, popping up on the last number and hopping onto the barrel. Octavia shoots at her, but she flips off, rolling once as she hits the ground. She quickly fires, the shot hitting the center of the target. Octavia’s vest buzzes and Lincoln cheers, quickly recording the faces of the three boys around him. 

“That was the coolest fucking thing I’ve ever seen,” Octavia whispers. 

Lexa laughs, “Thanks. Now I believe you guys owe me and Lincoln ice cream.”

* * *

“So the first time you tried that you broke your arm?!”

“Yes!” Lexa laughs, “I tried to do the flip but I landed wrong and broke my arm!”

Lincoln shakes his head, “It was awful. Her arm was all twisted and Costia was so spooked she almost passed out. So she had to wait at the laser tag place while I took Lexa to the emergency room.”

“It was about a month before I even thought about re-attempting it. But I did. And as you guys saw I got it down pretty good.”

“Pretty good?” Jasper slams down his empty ice cream cup, “That was fucking amazing!”

“Honestly,” Monty nods, taking a thoughtful bite of his cone, “That’s probably the coolest thing I’ve seen anyone do in laser tag.”

“You gotta teach me,” Octavia pleads, ignoring the way some of her cookies and cream has dripped onto her hand. 

“No,” Bellamy fixes her with a hard stare. “She is not teaching you,” he points a finger at Lexa, “You are not teaching her.”

“Bellamy don’t be such a buzzkill,” Octavia pouts. 

“I’m not! Lexa just said she broke her arm the first time she tried to do that!”

“So! I’ve broken my arm before!”

“And you cried for like three hours straight.”

“I was seven! What did you expect me to do!”

“Shake it off?”

Monty quietly sings the chorus of the Taylor Swift song and Lexa bursts into laughter. Lincoln smiles and wipes off his hands with his napkin. “Alright, who’s ready to rep Kongeda High!” he cheers, earning groans from the Academy kids. “I’m gonna get the stuff out of my car. You guys wait here.”

The teens finish off the rest of their ice cream, throwing the trash into a can a few feet from their table. “You guys are actually cooler than I thought you’d be,” Lexa says, finally breaking the silence that had occurred once Lincoln left. 

“What did you think we’d be like?” Monty asks, attempting to fold one of the leftover napkins into a paper airplane. 

“Stuck up? Arrogant? I don’t know I just expected you guys to be douchey.”

“Why?”

“Ummm maybe because you got into a fight with us on the first day we were at your school?”

Bellamy rolls his eyes, “Okay well first of all that was Finn. And while he may be exactly what you just described, not everybody at Ark Academy is like that.”

“Well obviously. You guys are pretty great to hang with.”

“What about Clarke?” Octavia asks.

“She’s cool too.”

“Yeah?” Octavia smiles, “What kind of cool? Like friend cool or ‘man i wouldn’t mind dating her’ cool?”

“Octavia, please shut up,” Monty says. “Lexa you don’t have to answer that.”

“It’s fine Monty. I’m actually in a relationship right now, so I’d have to go with friend cool?”

“You don’t seem so sure about that.”

Lexa laughs, “Trust me, I am. I’ve only ever hung out with Clarke twice.”

“Oooo are we talking about Clarke, Lexa’s favorite Spacewalker of them all?” Lincoln throws down a small pile of clothes. 

“Fuck off. What’s with all these questions about her anyways?”

“No reason,” Octavia starts to sift through the clothes, pulling out Lexa’s letterman jacket, “I call wearing this.”

“I’m taking Lincoln’s then,” Bellamy says, pulling it out. 

“We’ll take the sweatshirts,” Monty hands one to Jasper before pulling the other over his head. 

“Okay so either me or Lincoln have to be in each photo,” Lexa says. 

“Alright I’ll take mine with you,” Octavia hands her phone to Bellamy. She slips on the letterman. “Should I face forward or back?” “Hmmm, maybe back but turn you head to the side,” Lexa says. Octavia does as Lexa says, letting her arms dangle at her sides as Lexa kneels down on the floor. The older girl points to her name on the jacket and opens her mouth in a surprised smile. Bellamy snaps the picture. Then he and Lincoln mirror their position for his picture.

Monty and Jasper decide to take a group pic with Lexa and Lincoln. Both Grounders take their jackets from the Blakes. Bellamy takes the picture, and Octavia photobombs in the background, the Kongeda High beanie that Lincoln brought out resting on her head. 

“How will we know if you actually post these?” Lincoln asks.

“We’ll follow you guys on Instagram and tag you in them. Deal?”

“Deal,” Lexa and Lincoln respond in unison.

“Alright,” Lexa sighs, “It’s getting late and we’ve got a long drive back, so we should probably head out.”

Lincoln nods, taking the sweatshirts that Monty and Jasper hand to him. “It was nice meeting you guys! We’ll see you on Monday?”

“Of course,” Bellamy pulls him into a bro-hug. Then they all take turns saying their goodbye’s before Lincoln and Lexa head outside. 

Octavia sighs, “They’re really nice.”

“I know,” Bellamy rests his arm on her shoulder, “I really want to hate them but I can’t.”

“Same here,” Monty agrees.

“Yeah,” Jasper nods, “And I can totally see why Clarke and Octavia are crushing.”

“Octavia?” Bellamy frowns, “Jasper what are you talking about?”

“Yeah Jasper,” Octavia’s eyes narrow, “What the hell are you on about?”

“Oh sorry I just thought that you liked Lincoln.”

“Why’d you think that?”

“You guys were just acting kind of flirty and you stole his hat.”

“What do you mean I stole his hat?”

Jasper gently tugs the beanie off her head, waving it in front of her face before handing it to her. 

“Fuck. You’re right.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey so remember when i said if update every week well now im realizing thats probably not gonna work out with my schedule bc of all the schoolwork ive got thats due in the next week or so. but i'll be done with school in about a month so hopefully i will start posting regularly then. but even so im gonna try and update once or twice every two weeks


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took so long

**_me:_ ** _ i hung out with your girlfriend today  _

**_the clarke to my lois:_ ** _ my girlfriend? _

**_me:_ ** _ yeah. shes really hot. she let me wear her jacket like a true gentlewoman ;) _

**_the clarke to my lois:_ ** _ o i have 0 idea what you’re talking about _

**_me:_ ** _ check my insta bitch _

**_the clarke to my lois:_ ** _ alright one sec _

**_the clarke to my lois:_ ** _ ……… _

**_the clarke to my lois:_ ** _ you didnt _

**_the clarke to my lois:_ ** _ o  _

**_the clarke to my lois:_ ** _ O _

**_the clarke to my lois:_ ** _ O WHAT THE FUCK _

**_me:_ ** _ :))))))) _ _   
_

**_the clarke to my lois:_ ** _ you have 5 seconds to explain _

**_me:_ ** _ okay okay okay hold up  _

**_me:_ ** _ so me bell jasper and monty went to the plex and we ran into them there so we issued a challenge and whoever lost 2 of 3 games had to post a picture repping the other school. and being the superior school we naturally lost  _

**_the clarke to my lois:_ ** _ okay but like how did you even know i liked her?  _

**_me:_ ** _ a+ sleuthing  _

**_me:_ ** _ also she let it slip that you two hung out on thursday _

**_the clarke to my lois:_ ** _ okay…..so…...now you know _

**_me:_ ** _ yes. i do _

**_the clarke to my lois:_ ** _ what do you think? _

**_me:_ ** _ shes hot. like really hot. i approve 100% _

**_me:_ ** _ well actually 98% _

**_me:_ ** _ -1% for being a grounder and -1% because as your best friend im supposed to be cautious _

**_me:_ ** _ actually make that 99%. +1% for beating up finn that first day/completely obliterating your high scores in the basketball game at the plex _

**_the clarke to my lois:_ ** _ what?! she beat my scores?!?!?!? _

**_me:_ ** _ no _

**_me:_ ** _ she fucking rekt your scores. hers are like 20 points higher _

**_the clarke to my lois:_ ** _ damn. it took me months to get them _

**_me:_ ** _ i know. but i guess you suck :) _

**_the clarke to my lois:_** _://///////_ _nvmd my crush is gone_

**_me:_ ** _ lmao dont be an idiot _

**_me:_ ** _ also bellamy and me are on the way to your house so unlock your door _

**_the clarke to my lois:_ ** _ gross no thanks stay at your place please _

**_me:_ ** _ we made brownies _

**_the clarke to my lois:_ ** _ fine _

**_the clarke to my lois:_ ** _ pick up ice cream _

**_me:_ ** _ already did _

**_me:_ ** _ be there in 5 _

* * *

Bellamy pulls the bowls from the cupboard as Clarke cuts up the brownies. Octavia watches the two of them from her spot on the swivel-y desk chair she dragged into the kitchen.

“Hey O, can you bring me the ice cream?” Bellamy asks, pulling out the scoop from the top drawer. Octavia grabs the bag with the frozen desert and rolls herself over to her brother, depositing it onto the counter next to him. He opens up the tub and scoops some of the ice cream into a bowl that Octavia immediately grabs. She wheels herself to Clarke and grabs the brownie pan, ignoring the blonde’s cry of protest. Clarke sets down her knife and chases after Octavia, who’s trying her best to keep the food from falling out of her lap as she pushes herself from wall to wall. 

Bellamy watches from the kitchen, laughing as his sister gets stuck between the couch and the coffee table. Clarke grabs the brownies and runs back to the kitchen, handing them to Bellamy. He sticks them on top of the cupboards, high out of his sister’s reach. Octavia pouts up at him before swiveling around and rolling away. Bellamy rolls his eyes and takes the brownies down, slipping one into both his and Clarke’s bowls before storing them in the fridge. 

The two join Octavia in the other room, finally caving to her puppy-dog eyes and giving her a third of each of their brownies. She accepts the sweets gratefully, shoveling them down in just a few bites. Clarke and Bellamy eat slower, finishing up their first bowls as Octavia starts on her third. 

“How the hell do you stay so in shape?” Clarke asks, staring at the younger girl in wonder. 

Octavia swallows. “Fast metabolism.” She shovels another spoonful of ice cream into her mouth. 

“Lucky bitch,” Clarke mutters. She grabs her and Bellamy’s bowls and rinses them before setting them in the dishwasher. “Wait don’t close that,” Octavia rolls up to Clarke, arm flailing out to grab onto the edge of the sink and stop herself. She repeats Clarke’s actions then closes the dishwasher. “Want a ride princess?” Octavia spins to face the blond, gesturing towards her lap seductively. Clarke climbs on top of her, wrapping her arms and legs around Octavia’s waist. “Alright, let’s go,” Clarke purrs. Octavia puts her socked feet against the kitchen island and pushes off. “I hope you know I can’t see where I’m going.” Clarke shrugs, “I’ll steer us.” She sits up a bit and places her palms against the back of the chair. As Octavia pushes off the next surface, Clarke loses her balance and collapses forward. Her and Octavia’s combined weight on the back of the chair cause it to tilt, and they both try their best to keep it upright. They somehow manage to keep it upright, and Clarke quickly switches back to her first position. “It’s a straight shot to the den,” she says, clutching tighter to the brunette. Octavia pushes herself off the last wall, and the chair rolls up to the couch, stopping right before it hits Bellamy’s legs. Octavia and Clarke move to the couch, and the blonde immediately criticizes Bellamy’s movie choice. “What’s so bad about Hercules?! It’s a Disney classic!” “A Disney classic that we watched last time,” Clarke grabs the remote from the table, “I’m changing this.” She flips through the channels, settling on one that’s about to start playing  _ The Good Dinosaur _ . 

“Aww man, this movie always make me cry,” Octavia sighs. 

“Shhhh, no spoilers. I still haven’t seen it,” Clarke says, drawing her knees to her chest. “Alright, alright,” Octavia smiles and leans against the blonde, “No spoilers.”

* * *

Lexa opens her phone to 3 missed calls and 5 text messages from Costia. She quickly calls back, making herself comfortable on Lincoln’s bed as she waits for Costia to pick up. When she doesn’t answer, Lexa leaves a voicemail asking her to call when she gets her message. Lincoln walks in a few moments later, carrying a big bowl of watermelon and two forks. He flops down next to Lexa, handing over one of the utensils. They eat quietly and quickly, polishing off the fruit in a matter of minutes. Lexa falls back, hands clasping over her stomach.

“I found a dragon’s egg the other day,” Lincoln says, mirroring her position. “Where?” Lexa asks, searching the stucco on the ceiling. He points to an ovalish part of the stucco where a couple of cracks have broken the surface of the paint. “This is perfect,” Lexa smiles, “It’s right by the castle!” Both teens shift their gaze a bit to the left.

Lincoln sighs, “I’ve noticed that it’s starting to look less and less like it did when we were seven.”

“Yeah,” Lexa’s smile slips from her face, “I guess it’s true, everything changes when you grow up.” 

“Not everything,” Lincoln grins at Lexa, “You still can’t throw a football.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is really short sorry, but next chap will be longer and have more lexanya bro time


	13. Chapter 13

Hey guys, long time no see. I stopped writing this story a little bit after 3x07 for a few reasons: 1) i didn't have the time because of school and other activities, 2) i was kind of in a slump after lexa died, and 3) i wasn't 100% sure where to go next in terms of the story. But, I come bearing good news, I now have a plan for the rest of the story, so if you'd be interesting in me finishing this up, let me know in the comments. 


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so this chapter is pretty short and not that great since im still trying to get back into the groove of writing. im using this as a sort of short filler chapter to ease myself back into things, but i promise the next chapter will be a lot longer and hopefully better.

Clarke wakes up to a follow request from Lexa that she gladly accepts. After doing so, she taps on the girl’s profile, a little bummed out about the fact that there’s only fourteen pictures for her to creep on. Still, if she spaces it out, she’ll be amused for the next ten minutes. 

She starts from her earliest post, a picture of an eggplant creatively captioned “eggplant”. Surprisingly, it has over 500 likes. The next ten photos are similar to that first, all containing random objects with their names as the captions. It’s dorky, and Clarke can’t help but find it more than a little endearing. 

The first photo that is of an actual person is one of Costia. She’s sitting on a field, head thrown back in laughter. The sun is just setting, and it gives the edges of her body a soft, golden tint. Clarke swallows down her jealousy and scrolls up. The next photo is of Lexa and Anya. She’s carrying the woman on her back, both of them grinning at something out of frame. Clarke stares at this one a little bit longer, mesmerized by the green of Lexa’s eyes and the curve of her smile. After realizing she’s been staring for a bit longer than is probably acceptable, she moves up to the last photo on Lexa’s account. It was posted yesterday morning, and it’s of Lexa, Costia, and Lincoln all hugging outside an airport terminal. Lexa’s captioned it ‘losing her is like losing the moon’. There’s only two comments on the photo. The first one asks if the couple has split up, and the second one is a response from Lexa saying that they’re still together, but Costia has moved to Polis. 

_ So that’s why Lexa was so upset on Friday.  _

Clarke’s debating whether or not to like the photo when she gets a text from Octavia. 

**_my better half:_ ** _ i see you followed lexa on instagram ;) _

**_me:_ ** _ fuck off _

**_my better half:_ ** _ im just going to ignore that and congratulate you on the fact that shes newly single _

**_me:_ ** _ no she’s not _

**_my better half:_ ** _ yeah she is dude her gf just moved to polis _

**_me:_ ** _ i know, but they’re still together. look at the comments on that photo _

**_my better half:_ ** _ o.  :/ _

**_me:_ ** _ yeah. but whatever i didn't have a chance either way _

**_my better half:_ ** _ what do u mean? ur hot af griff _

**_me:_ ** _ i know :) but she doesn't want to be seen with me anywhere because i'm a spacewalker _

**_my better half:_ ** _ ugh thats so stupid _

**_me:_ ** _ i get it though. she's got a school to lead and she doesnt want them to think she's a traitor _

**_my better half:_ ** _ lead? _

**_me:_ ** _ yeah. she's their ‘commander’. she’s like in charge of them.  _

**_my better half:_ ** _ :/ _

**_my better half:_ ** _ you know what this reminds me of _

**_me:_ ** _ romeo and juliet? _

**_my better half:_ ** _ i was gonna say west side story but i guess that works too _

**_me:_ ** _ you do realize that west side story is just romeo and juliet but more modern _

**_my better half:_ ** _ more modern and much better _

**_me:_ ** _ idk romeo and juliet is a classic _

**_my better half:_ ** _ yeah but does it have singing and dancing? _

**_me:_ ** _ no _

**_my better half:_ ** _ then west side story is better. sorry nerd _

**_me:_ ** _ ugh whatever o. did you just text me to bug me about lexa? _

**_my better half:_ ** _ yes. but also to invite you to let you in on the secret birthday bash we’re throwing monty  _

**_me:_ ** _ monty <3 my son <3 _

**_my better half:_ ** _ anyway _

**_my better half:_ ** _ the party is gonna be this sunday, the day before his real birthday, and we’re planning to have it at jaspers house since its the biggest _

**_me:_ ** _ makes sense _

**_my better half:_ ** _ you in? _

**_me:_ ** _ of course. what should i bring? _

**_my better half:_ ** _ idk, food?  _

**_me:_ ** _ chips and cake? _

**_my better half:_ ** _ sounds good. also bring a swimsuit, jasper has a pool _

**_me:_ ** _ k. anything else? _

**_my better half:_ ** _ yeah, bring a date _

**_me:_ ** _ -.- _

**_my better half:_ ** _ im serious. we’re inviting lexa and lincoln and you need to make her jealous _

**_me:_ ** _ what?! you're inviting them?! _

**_my better half:_ ** _ yes. we r all friends now…..also i stole lincolns hat on accident and need to return it _

**_me:_ ** _ give it to him at school _

**_my better half:_ ** _ r u fucking w me _

**_me:_ ** _ no. why? _

**_my better half:_ ** _ because genius if i bring a kongeda high hat to school ill be crucified and if i talk to lincoln ill be double crucified _

**_me:_ ** _ i'll protect you _

**_my better half:_ ** _ <3 _

**_me:_ ** _ <3 _

**_me:_ ** _ but i see your point _

* * *

**Clarke’s Party Date Requirements**

  1. Good Looking
  2. NOT interested in me romantically
  3. Good Actor/Actress
  4. Trustworthy
  5. Won’t judge me for trying to get with a grounder
  6. Friends with Monty



 

As Clarke reads over her checklist for the fourth time in a row, she realizes that there’s really only one person she can have do the job for her. Clarke takes out her phone, sending a quick text to one of her best friends.

**_me:_ ** _ i need you to do me a huge favor. _

**_The Firstborn:_ ** _ What’s up? _

**_me:_ ** _ i need you to be my date to montys party _

**_The Firstborn:_ ** _ Is somebody trying to make a certain Grounder girl jealous? ;) _

**_me:_ ** _ just pls say you’ll do it _

**_The Firstborn:_ ** _ I’ll think about it _

**_me:_ ** _ bell! please! _

**_The Firstborn:_ ** _ Okay fine. I’ll do it _

**_me:_ ** _ <3 <3 <3 _

**_The Firstborn:_ ** _ Ugh, gross _

**_me:_ ** _ <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 _

**_The Firstborn:_ ** _ I changed my mind. Find a new date _

_**me:** :(_


End file.
